With most of the ISU men’s track and field team and the entire women’s squad remaining in Ames, the spotlight was on the men’s sprinters to perform well Saturday.

They didn’t disappoint, as Iowa State ran to three victories and six other top-five finishes at the Northwest Invitational meet hosted by Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo.

Men’s head coach Steve Lynn said he was happy for Peris Chamberlain, Tom Ries and Justin Sherman, who all won their respective events.

“For all of them, it was their first collegiate win so that was kind of fun for them,” Lynn said. “It was very, very windy so the times weren’t great, but they all ran smart races.”

Chamberlain won the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 49.52.

“Peris has been having a good senior year,” Lynn said. “He was the best guy in the race and ran like it.”

Ries won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.43. Ries was happy with his win but said he feels he still has plenty of room to improve.

“It was a [personal record] for me,” Ries said. “It’s a good time for now, but it needs to be bettered. I have to [improve this time].”

Ries said this meet is a momentum builder for future meets.

“[Hurdler] Ryan Boyington and I were talking about the weather and how it might not be a very good meet. He said, ‘I think everybody needs to get a good meet underneath them before we start going strong in the outdoor season.’ I thought it was a good idea,” Ries said. “I went down there, and even though there were 25 mph winds, I still ran pretty good. So I’m happy to get that good race underneath me.”

What really makes Ries happy is to just to be competing outside after the indoor season. “I love the outdoors,” Ries said. “Indoor you feel cramped. Outdoor you get to travel a little bit more and see a few more places.”

Lynn said Ries ran very well even though he is inexperienced in the event.

“Tom had always been a 400-meter runner. We’ve been converting him over slowly,” Lynn said. “He still runs [that race], but the 800 is still going to be his open race. He went up and took the race over all by himself.”

Sherman placed first in the 400-meter hurdles (54.67) and Kyle Rippey finished third (55.78).

“[Justin] took the lead early, held on and ran away at the end of the race to win,” Lynn said. “It was [Rippey’s] first race in the 400-meter hurdles in two years. He was injured last year.”

Jared Graham and James Lopes finished second and third in the 200-meter dash with times of 21.93 and 22.43, respectively. Lopes said practicing against Graham makes him work harder.

“Jared’s a real strong runner, so it’s always good to train with somebody like him because you know he’s going to work hard in all the workouts,” Lopes said. “Graham always finishes well in the workouts, so you know if you’re running up there with [him], you’re in pretty good shape.”

Despite a third-place finish, Lopes was disappointed with his run.

“That was a slow time for me outdoors,” he said. “I didn’t run a very good race, I definitely want to improve my performance. I have to work on a few things and just get started. This meet was just to get ready for upcoming meets.”

Lopes also said the early outdoor meets will help prepare him and the rest of the Cyclones for conference competition.

“It’s always better to get outside [with] a little nice weather and take advantage of it,” Lopes said.