ROLLA, Mo. – A strong field of competitors is expected to be on hand at Allgood-Bailey Stadium this weekend as Missouri S&T hosts the 14^th annual Dewey Allgood Invitational track & field meet.

For the first time, the meet will take place over two days, as it will begin Friday with multi-event competition starting at 1 p.m. in the stadium and the men's and women's hammer throw, which will begin at 2 p.m. at the Fraternity Row Fields.  Saturday's action starts at 9 a.m. with the second day of the multi-events; the open field events will begin at 11 a.m. and the track events start at 1 p.m.

A total of 15 teams will be part of this year's invitational, including Maryville, McKendree, Quincy and William Jewell from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.  NCAA Division II power Missouri Southern will also be in the field, along with a number of regional institutions from the NCAA Division III and NAIA ranks from Missouri and Illinois.

Missouri S&T has two NCAA Division II provisional qualifiers in the current outdoor slated to compete this weekend in throwers Nathan Swadley (Willard, MO/Willard) – who was named Wednesday at the GLVC's field athlete of the week – and Jarett Johnson (Webb City, MO/Webb City).  Swadley is ranked second in the GLVC in the discus and third in the shot put, the two events that he has made his provisional marks, while Johnson holds the GLVC's best mark in the javelin throw of 196-2.

The Miners have three others ranked among the top two in their respective events in the GLVC in Bailey Crone (Collinsville, IL/Collinsville), who is second in the league in the high jump, Cole Hargis (Webb City, MO/Webb City), who is second in the javelin and Alex Staples (River Forest, IL/Oak Park River Forest) in the 800-meters.

The men's field includes McKendree's Darren Arzu, who has the best time of the year in the GLVC in the 110-meter hurdles and Tyree Allen, who owns the second-best time in the GLVC in the 400-meters this season.  In addition, the top three pole vaulters in the GLVC – McKendree's Monte Wolke, Maryville's Drew Kowalski and S&T's Joseph Nickell (Nixa, MO/Nixa) – are among the competitors slated to compete in that event.

On the women's side, indoor All-America performers Camille Baker (Knoxville, TN/Knoxville Catholic HS) and Skyler Ruszkowski (League City, TX/Clear Falls) are also expected to compete.  Baker will take part in the heptathlon, her first multi-event competition since placing sixth in the pentathlon at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships last month.  Ruszkowski finished seventh in the high jump at the indoor national meet.

The remainder of the field is highlighted by Missouri Southern pole vaulter Emily Presley, who has the top clearance in the event in NCAA Division II this season of 14-feet and Washington University's Eka Jose, who has the best performance in NCAA Division III in the triple jump of 39-4½ this season.

Two of the top three in the GLVC performance rankings in the women's 400-meter hurdles, William Jewell's Tonyelle Temple and Maryville's Casey Berberich are in the field and McKendree's Shayna Phillips has the third-best time in the GLVC in the 800-meters this season.  Berberich is also ranked third in the high jump, while teammate Ellen Foster is currently second in the conference.  S&T's Hannah Shearer (Conroe, TX/The Woodlands Christian Academy) is currently third in the steeplechase in the GLVC rankings.