Two new faces helped propel the ISU men’s track team to a runner-up finish at the Clemson Invitational last weekend.

Matt Murdock and Jamal Salahuddin each picked up a victory as Iowa State amassed 146 team points. Clemson won the five-team meet with 236 points.

The ISU women also made the trip to South Carolina. Clemson almost won the women’s team race as well, but was edged by Miami (Ohio), 140-139. Iowa State placed fourth with 88 points.

Murdock’s win in the javelin was one of many highlights for the men’s team. He has been at Iowa State since 2001, but a broken foot prevented him from competing last year and in this year’s indoor season. Murdock’s throw of 213-8 easily outdistanced teammate Tyson Hilgenberg, who took second with a throw of 196-8.

Despite Murdock’s lack of collegiate experience, men’s coach Steve Lynn expected him to do well.

“We felt like he had a good chance to [win],” Lynn said. “But Tyson Hilgenberg getting second was a very good surprise.”

Hilgenberg originally came to Iowa State to play baseball, Lynn said. When the ISU men’s baseball program was cut, he wanted to find a way to keep competing in intercollegiate athletics, so he took up the javelin.

Salahuddin picked up two victories for Iowa State. He won the shot put with a throw of 53-2 3/4, and the discus with a throw of 179-7. The second place finisher in the discus, Derek Gibson of Clemson, was nearly 20 feet behind Salahuddin.

Salahuddin transferred to Iowa State from Bowling Green this year after Bowling Green cut its men’s track program.

Junior Daniel Kaczmarczyk also saw his first competition of the year. Kaczmarczyk has qualified for the NCAA championships in the long jump in previous seasons, but sat out the indoor season this year because of a hamstring injury. He grabbed fourth place in the long jump (24-3) and sixth place in the 100-meter dash (10.83).

Although Kaczmarczyk did not pick up any victories at Clemson, Lynn said that he will be an important part of the team.

“He is getting very close,” Lynn said. “He’s still kind of out of sync, but by the end of the year he could be pushing 26 feet.”

Iowa State rounded out its strong performance in the weight events by taking second, third and fourth place in the hammer throw. Kris Ruhland took second with a throw of 172-5. Kendall Fogle (170-3) and Tony Stewart (162-4) were close behind. DeVon Carter of East Carolina won the event with a throw of 173-3.

The men also performed well in the distance events. Craig Cartier led the charge, winning the 1500-meter run in 3:51.73. Teammate Chris Francois finished just moments behind, taking second in 3:51.92.

Cartier also took fourth place in the 800-meter run in 1:54.14, nearly keeping pace with fellow Cyclone Abraham Rotich. Rotich took third place in 1:53.28. Clemson’s Marcus Hodge won in 1:52.91.

In the 5,000-meter run, Iowa State’s pack was not able to catch winner Jason Meany of Clemson, but did secure the next four places. Kristjan Hunter led the Cyclones, taking second in 14:42.48. Alfred Singoei (14:58.70), Dan Taylor (15:02.48) and Ben Fogarty (15:33.48) followed. Meany’s winning time was 14:24.42.

Overall, the weekend’s performances left Lynn feeling pleased.

“I think it was the fourth [outdoor] meet for [the other teams], and it was our first,” Lynn said. “We’ve got improving to do, but we certainly started off on a very, very good note.”

The women’s team also had strong representation in the weight and distance events. In the shot put, Susan Sherman shrugged off a cold to post a convincing 10-foot victory, throwing 163-6.

Jessica Huff won the 1,500-meter run in 4:33.68. Huff and Cartier provided a sweep for Marshalltown natives in that event. Cara Van Eck picked up third in 4:38.11.

Karen McCormick claimed the 5,000-meter run, the meet’s longest event, for the women. Her winning time was 19:42.62.

Gina Rickert earned a victory in the high jump, clearing 6-1 1/2. Even though she had jumped higher in the indoor season, women’s assistant coach Scott Roberts was pleased with her performance.

“They’ve been pushing her pretty hard the last couple weeks as far as training goes,” Roberts said. “That was very encouraging that, as hard as she has been working, she was still able to clear that height.”

Rickert is not the only one who has been practicing hard lately. Roberts said that the whole team will see better performances once its members get more rest.

“Their legs are a little heavy this week because we’ve been training pretty hard,” he said. “I think that once we give them a couple weeks they’ll get their legs back under them.”

Next up for the teams is a meet at Missouri this weekend.