ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis opened its outdoor track and field campaign Friday at the Billiken Invitational, held in blustery conditions at the Medical Center Recreational Complex on the SLU campus .
 
Both the men's and women's teams placed second in the team competition, and numerous Billikens won their respective events.
 
Danny Hopkins won the 400 meters with a time of 48.74. SLU finished 1-2 in the 5,000 meters, with Patrick Donovan (15:14.08) finished first ahead of teammate Firaol Ahmed (15:20.56) in second.
 
Toby Gillen won the 1,500 meters in his outdoor debut, crossing the finish in 3:58.57 to lead a large 22 competitor field. Ethan Rice took home top honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a finish of 10:12.66.
 
SLU had the top four finishers in the 800 meters, led by Malik Stewart's time of 2:00.24. Coming in next were Harrison Martinenko (2:01.33), Jackson Higley (2:01.94) and Nick Parker (2:06.03).
 
Evan Bruenderman was the winner in the triple jump with a leap of 14.09 meters. Victor Wiski took home the title in the discus with a throw of 39.46 meters.
 
The men's shot put was won by Diego Collado, who posted a toss of 14.90 meters for the win.
 
The men's 4x400-meter relay of Hopkins, Luke Schaefer, Jack McPhillips and Aidan Martin placed first with a time of 3:28.74.
 
On the women's side, Katie Wissing won the triple jump and long jump with distances of 11.56 meters and 5.32 meters, respectively.
 
Emily Nichols finished first in the large field of the 200 meters, crossing the line in a time of 25.54. She also placed first in the 400 meters with a time of 59.32.
 
Theresa Lampe was the winner in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.68.
 
Angelina White and Ali VanDeHeede placed 1-2 in the discus. White turned in a first-place throw of 40.53 meters, while VanDeHeede was second with a heave of 34.79 meters.