STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern women's track and field team hosted the GATA Classic on Friday and Saturday, March 15 & 16th, excelling in the Eagles' first outdoor track and field meet hosted at home since 2013.

The Eagles' effort was highlighted by a school-record performance by freshman Merabu Nagwandala, who led a 1-2-3 finish in the 5000 meters by Georgia Southern. Nagwandala finished in a time of 17:52.67, eclipsing the previous school record by nearly half a minute (18:23.14, Sara Curry, 2011).

Senior Erin Mullican placed second and junior Kaitlin Rocker placed third in the Eagle sweep.

Alexis Gant claimed a pair of event wins, taking the Hammer Throw and the Shotput, while finishing second in the Discus.

The 4x400 Relay was a 1-2 finish for Georgia Southern as the "A" team of Breanna Thornton, Ellunde Montgomery, Desiree Blunt and Meagan Lynch claimed the win in a time of 4:01.21, with the "B" team of Kamare' Ways, Aris Hubbard, Camryn Mathis and Tierra Edwards finished second.

The Eagles also went 1-2-3 in the 800 meters, won by Sholonda Snell in a time of 2:14.93. Nagwandala finished second and Carley Braman finished third.

Freshman Izlyn Zaini claimed the win in the 100 Hurdles in a time of 14.50 to round out the event winners for the Eagles.

Click here for the full results from the 2019 GATA Classic. 

"I'm very happy for the Eagles to be competing back in Statesboro!" Georgia Southern Head Track and Field Coach Kelly Carter said. "This weekend we hosted the GATA Classic, which is the first track meet to be run in Statesboro since the 2013 Southern Conference Championships. Our ladies really stepped up and performed well in front of the home crowd!  We had school records broken, personal records set and several top 3 finishes. The Eagles are setting themselves up well to have a great outdoor season. I can't wait for the the next home meet in April."

Georgia Southern will return to action on Wednesday, March 27th, competing at the Tiger Twilight Midweek Meet at Savannah State University.