Sewanee, Tenn.- Freshman La'Keshia Hayes won the first collegiate track event that she competed in on Saturday and guided the short-handed Clayton College & State University Lady Lakers to a second place finish in the Sewanee Indoor Invitational. The Lithonia native improved on the Clayton State long jump record en route to winning the meet's opening event. Later, she finished second in the 400m, earned a pair of third place finishes in the triple jump and 200m dash and helped two relay teams to second place finishes.

Clayton State finished with 70 points, but was a distant second to the University of the South's 118 points. Third place went to Fisk University which scored 50 points in the seven-team field.

"This was quite a feat for our women's team today, since we only have a six-person squad and two (Cathy Wasserleben and Yoshiko Okada) were sidelined with injuries," said head coach Mike Mead. "When we get the depth like we have on the men's team, we could be hell on wheels."

Besides Hayes efforts, sophomore Joni Guffey, freshman Melody Bogan and senior Denny Rauch turned in productive performances. Guffey finished second in the 800m and fourth in the 1500m run. Bogan was third in the 400m and fourth in the 800m while Rauch finished fifth in the 1500m run. The trio teamed up with Hayes for the pair of seconds in the 4 x 160m and sprint medley relays.

"Nothing beats a little competition," said Mead. "You can only do so much in practice and this meet helped us. Our folks got after it today. We're off to a solid start."

The Lady Lakers, as well as the Lakers, venture outdoors next Saturday for the Oglethorpe Relays. The meet will mark the first of seven outdoor meets on the team's 2000 schedule.