Despite temperatures in the upper 30s, the ISU men’s track and field team started the outdoor season by recording 17 top-10 finishes at the Missouri Relays on Friday and Saturday.

“It was the coldest track meet I’ve ever been a part of,” said sprint coach Ronnie Williams. “But I think we responded to the conditions and competed well.”

Freshman Luke Pinkelman began his outdoor season in style, earning a victory in the shot put with an NCAA Regional qualifying score of 57-3/4 feet.

The Nebraska native was the only first-place finisher for the Cyclones. Zac Brouillette also placed in the event, finishing in sixth.

Stefan Tauber added to the Cyclones’ success in the field events with two third-place finishes. In the long jump Tauber beat his personal best from last season with a combined score of 23-00.00. He also took third in the javelin throw, with a throw of 56.02 meters.

Besides Pinkelman’s first-place victory, Iowa State saw impressive performances from several other freshmen athletes. Clayton Carper started his outdoor career with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run, with a time of 14 minutes, 52.87 seconds. Bart Howard ran a 56.09 in 400-meter hurdles, which was good enough for eighth.

First year sprinter Derron Montgomery continued to impress, taking fifth in the 200-meter dash. Montgomery is coming off a successful indoor season where he had several high finishes, including a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Jared Lewis also had a top 10 finish in the event, placing eighth in a time of 22.01 seconds.

Eric Parker and Justin Peel placed fifth and ninth, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles. Michael Alexander added a notable finish of his own, taking seventh in the 800-meter run. Alexander, Josh Lewis, Johnny Reel and Brek Minarik were also a part of the 4 x 800-meter relay that took sixth place.

The men’s team will split up this week, with the distance runners heading to the west coast for the Stanford Invitational while the rest of the team will compete at the Northern Iowa Invitational.