GALESBURG, Ill. — For the first time in four years, the Knox track and field teams had the opportunity to compete against other colleges on their home outdoor track, and they took advantage of it. The Prairie Fire had 17 podium performances, including six golds, in the four-team meet.

Perhaps the most impressive victory was recorded by senior Franny Hilliard. Her time in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase at 12:34.23 was the 19th fastest in the event by any Division III runner this outdoor season and is the fourth fastest by a Knox runner.

Then there was senior Jacob Anderson winning the men's 110 meter hurdles in 15.67, a good third of a second faster than he had run previously. He is just the seventh Prairie Fire athlete to run the race in under 16 seconds. Anderson also ran the 400 meter hurdles in a personal-best 58.03 seconds, placing second in the event.

The 11.10-second time run by first-year Jayvon Bolds in the men's 100 meters may not have been his best time, but it was good enough for the gold on this day. And fifth-year Eusebio King-Mills was not far behind with a personal-best of 11.19 seconds, which secured the bronze.

Junior Lance Miller, normally a distance runner, tried his hand … well, feet at the men's 800 meters and crossed the tape first in 1:58.21, a personal record and the sixth-best time on Knox's top performers in the event.

Both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay teams won their respective races, with a second men's team placing third. In addition, the men's 4x400 meter relay team finished second with a season-best time of 3:38.04, anchored by first-year Chrisangel Djambazian, who also ran a personal-best 51.7 seconds in the men's 400 meters to finish second.

While sophomore Stephanie Nelson did not win gold, she did break the school record in the hammer with a toss of 42.73 meters (140 feet 2 inches), one inch better than Christina Davis who had held the mark for 15 years. Nelson also heaved the discus 38.22 meters (125 feet 4 inches), a PR and the fourth-longest among Knox performers ever.

• Senior A.J. Vazquez placed second in both the men's long jump (6.46 meters) and triple jump (13.51 meters).
• First-year Shari Willingham had the second-best high jump of the day on the women's side (1.45 meters).
• The other podium finish of the day belonged to senior Aleene Ramirez who ran a personal-best 14.10 to take third.

The Prairie Fire will compete at Monmouth next Saturday, May 3, for their final meet prior to the Midwest Conference Championships in Appleton, Wisconsin, on May 9-10.