SMU’s all-star runner, freshman Silje Fjortoft from Norway, continued to improve on her first season on the Hilltop by clinching a third-place finish in the 1,500-meter run at the 99th annual Drake Relays.

Saturday’s race, held in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted 13 runners from a variety of schools including Vanderbilt, UTEP, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Kansas and Kentucky. Fjortoft crossed the line in 4:25.76, falling just under two seconds short of first place. UTEP’s Kelly Young took first with a time of 4:23.52, and Kentucky’s Lavera Morris finished in second at 4:24.86.

Sophomore Andrea Kvetova, from the Czech Republic, finished in fourth place after a 49.83m throw in the women’s javelin competition last Friday. Minnesota’s Ruby Radocaj came in first, throwing the javelin 54.85m.

Kvetova was also recently named as the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week on April 22 for posting the seventh-best javelin throw in the nation in the final day of the Mt. SAC relays. Kvetova competed as the only collegiate athlete in the invitational field, and finished in third place with a 52.70m throw.

Sophomore Christina Mueller and freshman Kylie Spurgeon placed eighth and 17th, respectively, in the discus competition. Jessica Pressley from Arizona State took first in the discus throw with a 51.65m throw.

Another group of Mustangs competed in the Sooner Open in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, winning first, second, third and fourth place recognitions in a variety of events.

SMU’s freshman Gayla Cloud won first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 14.02 seconds, and third in the 100-meter hurdles event at 1:01.70. Junior Nnenna Ejesieme captured second place in the 400m hurdles. Teammate sophomore Chelsea Wells finished in fourth.

Senior Ilyssa Pettigrew improved on her season best, cutting almost four seconds off her time in the 400m to put her in third place overall at a time of 54.71 seconds. Pettigrew fell just one tenth of a second short of missing the NCAA-qualifying mark. Freshman Samantha Means also brought home the bronze for the Mustangs in a 4:49.62 finish in the 5,000m.

The team’s next event will the Conference USA Championships in El Paso, Texas on May 15-17. The NCAA Regional Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., on May 30 and 31, with the NCAA Championships in Des Moines on June 11-14.