SAN DIEGO, Calif. - March 13 - Southern Utah track and field continued to have a strong opening to the outdoor season as the Thunderbirds collected a total of 13 titles at the Aztec Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

SUU gathered the wealth of its success in the distance events over the weekend as Kirsten Sly (1,500m/4:40.41), Madalyn Olpin (3,000m/10:21.66), Steffi Minson (3,000-meter steeplechase/11:16.83) and Dallas Eborn (1,500m/4:02.54) all blazed to first-place finishes in their respective events.

Thunderbird throwers also enjoyed a great deal of success, sweeping the individual titles in the women's hammer and discus, courtesy of Kristi Koplin (148-07/183-10) and the men's shot put and discus, compliments of Hector Perez (49-03.75) and Carlos Valle (167-01), respectively.

Holly Ledbetter was the lone sprinter on the women's side to collect a first-place finish, crossing the line in the 200-meters with a time of 25.35.  The women's 4x400-meter team ran to a first-place finish in that event with a meet-best time of 3:51.68, more than ten seconds ahead of the second-place team.

In the men's sprints, Austin Hill's time of 47.93 in the men's 400-meter dash marked the first-place result in that event as five Thunderbirds filled out the top six.  The men's 4x400-meter relay team matched the result of the women, finishing in first place with a time of 3:16.06.

In all, Southern Utah athletes accounted for 73 top-five finishes during the meet and will continue the outdoor season in two weeks when the Thunderbirds compete at the Stanford Invitational.