ST. LOUIS – Maryville University track & field enters the 2022-23 season with high hopes after breaking numerous school records last season while nearly doubling the roster size heading into the new year. The Saints are set to kick off the indoor season this weekend at the Titan First Chance Meet hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
 
Returning School Record Holders:
Men
- Jared Stubbs: 55m, 55m hurdles, 60m hurdles, 100m hurdles
- Jobey Smith: 400m, 4x400m (indoor/outdoor), 400m hurdles
- Cetris Ivy Jr.: 500m, 4x400m (indoor/outdoor)
- Adrieon Keys: 600m, 4x400m (indoor/outdoor)
- Caleb Pyle: 10,000m
- Collin White: High jump
- Gavin McDonald: Pole Vault
- Mason Gray: 4x400m (Outdoor)
 
Women
- Darriona Griffin: 55m, 4x100m
- Nia Lyles: Weight throw, shot put (outdoor)
- Emma Shirley: 100m, 4x100m
- Casie Cullinane: Pole vault
- Milahn Dukes: Triple jump
 
Key Additions:
With a strong core of athletes returning, the Saints brought in a massive recruiting class, adding 41 newcomers to the 2022-23 squad. The men's team jumped up from 22 student-athletes last season to 42 while the women increased their roster size by 15 to 35.

New to the women's team is Saint Louis University transfer, Savannah Lesher. Lesher was the Billikens' top runner in the 800m last season, earning Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 15, 2021, for an impressive outing in the mile run at the Hoosier Open.

Texas recruits Aziah Hubbard and Makaila Williams will also look to contribute to the women's team early in their college careers. At Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, Hubbard was a three-time regional qualifier in the high jump, a two-time regional qualifier in the hurdles, and the 2022 district champion in the high jump. Williams, a sprinter from Houston, Texas, qualified for state multiple times and earned second place in 2021 in the 4x200m.

Key additions for the men include freshmen Monte Weaver, Rand Mathews, Andre Williams, and Ayden Bredenkamp. Bredenkamp was a three-time MSHSAA Class Five state medalist at Fort Zumwalt North High School while Mathews earned five conference event titles at Columbia High School. Expectations are also high for Weaver and Williams who come to Maryville after both earned two state finalist awards in high school.
 
Key Departures:
Casey Berberich: For the first time in five seasons, the Saints be without Casey Berberich who holds the school record in the long jump (5.56m) and the heptathlon (3,694). The Maryville graduate wrapped up an incredible career with three GLVC weekly awards in 2021-22 and a selection as the GLVC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year after winning the heptathlon at the conference championships.

Edina Catic: Senior sprinter Edina Catic left Maryville after last season as the school record holder in six different events. The St. Louis native played a crucial role in 2021-22, setting program highs in the indoor and outdoor 200m (25.55/25.04), the indoor 300m (41.23), the outdoor 400m (57.23), the indoor 500m (1:19.33), and the outdoor 4x100m (48.4) events.

Nicholas Warmann: The presence of runner Nick Warmann will be missed in 2022-23 after he posted four top-five individual finishes in his final season including a win in the 4x400m at the Dewey Allgood Invitational on April 16, 2022.
 
2021-22 Season Recap: 
The Saints are coming off a 2021-22 campaign in which they broke 26 different individual school records between the men's and women's programs. Each program posted 13 individual records, with seven broken during the indoor season and six during the outdoor.

Maryville did not register a team score during the indoor season until the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 27. The women placed sixth of 13 led by Casey Berberich who won the GLVC Title for the pentathlon. The men, led by Gavin McDonald's second-place finish in the pole vault, finished in 12th.

Both teams kicked off the outdoor season with top-five team finishes at the Billiken Invitational on March 25, with the men taking third and the women taking fourth. The men registered another top-five finish at the Lincoln University Open on April 9, before both programs took fourth at the Dick Cochran Classic at Lindenwood University on April 23.

At the GLVC Outdoor Championships, the Saints collected multiple individual titles with Nia Lyles in the shot put and Berberich who was selected as the GLVC Field Athlete of the Year for winning the heptathlon and the high jump.

The Saints finished out the season with one final push to get individuals to qualify for nationals at the Missouri S&T Last Chance Meet but they fell just short of the cut. They did, however, have multiple student-athletes hit national provisional marks in Berberich (pentathlon, heptathlon, high jump), Lyles (shot put), and Caleb Pyle (10,000m).

Head Coach Kayla Kregel's Expectations: 
"We have a hungry squad, and half of them will be wearing a Maryville uniform for the first time," said Head Track & Field Coach Kayla Kregel. "There are so many unknowns, but that's where the underdog mentality drives us to make some noise with our young squad. I am excited for our 11 returning school record holders to lead the way and put Maryville on another level this year."
 
Next Up:
The Titan First Chance meet is scheduled to begin with field events starting at noon on Saturday, Dec. 10. Events will run all day, ending with the conclusion of the 4x400 relay.