Five Southeast athletes opened their senior indoor track & field seasons with first-place finishes at the EIU Early Bird Invitational hosted by Eastern Illinois over the weekend in Charleston, Illinois.

On the women's side, Ayonna Cartwright placed first in the 60-meter dash in 7.63 seconds, while Kayla Gutierrez won the weight throw competition with a toss of 65 feet, 6.75 inches.

Gutierrez also placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 44-9, which placed right behind teammate Aaliah Herron, who took third at 44-10.25.

Other notable finishes for the women included a pair of newcomers. Freshman Sidne' Williamson placed second in the long jump with a leap of 18-0.25 in her Redhawk debut, while freshman Miya Dorsey took third in the 400 in 59.65. Dorsey also teamed with senior Jovannie Spears, Cartwright and senior Cheyanne Tunti to place third in the 1,600 relay in 4:01.77.

Freshman N'kia Jones also turned in a third-place performance in the triple jump with an effort of 36-9.5, and junior Chante Mosby finished fifth in the high jump at 5-2.5.

On the men's side, Christian Locke, Jason Walker and Jacob Kent all turned in first-place performances.

Locke led a trio of strong performances in the pole vault, clearing 16-6.75 to win the event. Redshirt sophomore Austin Barousse took third at 13-11.25 and sophomore Tyler Jourdan finished fifth at 13-5.25.

Walker won the weight throw with a personal-best toss of 54.4, while Kent tied for first in the long jump with a leap of 22-11.25.

Sophomore Jordan Barber, a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, claimed third in the 400 in 49.63. Freshman Stephen Zagurski placed fifth in the weight throw with a toss of 50-2.5 in his debut, while fellow freshman Alexander Sleenhof took sixth in the shot put at 46-6.25.

Freshman James Kosbar placed fifth in the mile in his Southeast debut in 4:32.19.

Kent and freshman Dalton Huffman, a Kelly High School graduate, tied for fifth in the high jump at 6-4.

Southeast returns to action Jan. 15 at the Missouri Invitational in Columbia, Missouri.