GOLDEN, Colo. --- Mother Nature may have changed weekend plans for the South Dakota School of Mines men's and women's track teams, but the Hardrockers still managed to deliver some of their top performances of the season during the Colorado School of Mines Kit Mayer Invitational in Golden, Colorado, on Saturday and Sunday.

The 'Rockers were all set to host the Bauer Invitational at O'Harra Stadium on Saturday, but a springtime blizzard dumped almost two feet of snow on the field and SD Mines was forced to find a backup plan. It marked the second year in a row that the SD Mines track meet had been canceled due to weather.  

Everything worked out just fine as the 'Rockers posted 20 personal-best records, registered 11 Top 5 finishes, broke three school records and improved on one provisional qualification to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

SD Mines Erica Keeble had another outstanding meet Sunday. The sophomore pole vaulter from De Pere, Wisconsin, improved on her provisional mark and broke her own school record after clearing a height of 12-feet-6.75-inches (3.83 meters). She won the event Sunday and is currently ranked first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 15^th in the nation.

Keeble was also a part of the women's 4x100 relay team which set a new school record after clocking a time of 50.72 seconds Also on the team were Katherine Mathieu, Faith Chambers and Annalie Janus. This squad held the old record of 50.77 established earlier this season.

Senior distance runner Erica Westerman also improved on her Hardrocker all-time mark after taking top honors in the women's 800-meter run. The Yankton, South Dakota, native clocked a time of 2:16.52, and shaved almost three seconds off her previous school record (2:19.70).  She is now ranked ninth in the conference standings.

Junior Kevin Ptak continues to progress through the outdoor season. This time, the Allen, Texas, native won the men's 400 dash and set a PR in the event with a time of 48.60. He edged out teammate Jonathon Murray, who took third with a 48.93. Murray is still ranked first in the RMAC for the 400 dash (48.04) while Ptak --- after Sunday's race --- moved up to fourth in the rankings.

SD Mines had two men's 4x400 relay teams place on Sunday. The squad of Korder Cropsey, Andrew Ferris, Ptak and Murray took second in a time of 3:18.18; while the group consisting of Chase Wood, Tel Bostwick, Jacob Huber and Isaac Orozco earned third place with a mark of 3:26.65.

Other Hardrocker highlights included: Kayla Gagen took second in the women's javelin (103-2) and Tana Dahlberg was a spot behind in third place (99-8); Carter Kasuske set a new PR and earned fourth place in the men's javelin (143-10) and Austin Hammer was close behind in fifth place (143-0); and Ferris took fourth place in the men's 1,500 run (4:06.50).

"Despite the windy conditions yesterday we still saw some very good performances this weekend," said Hardrocker track and field head coach Steve Johnson. "Erica Keeble improved on her provisional qualifying mark and school record; Erica Westmeran improved her school record in the 800 and moved into the RMAC Top 10; and the women's 4x100 relay team set a new school record."

Coach Johnson added, "To date we have nine athletes ranked in the Top 100 nationally and have 59 RMAC Top 24 marks."