The Bob Jones University men's and women's track and field teams saw success this weekend as the teams competed at the John Hunter Classic hosted by Columbia International University.
"It was a great meet for the team this weekend," said Head Coach Ken Roach. "We saw a lot of personal best from the athletes and a couple of school records fell. I believe this was a breakthrough weekend for many of our athletes and it is only our second outdoor meet. Normally, this comes a little later in the season."
BJU kicked off the meet on Friday on a high note. Several Bruins went the distance as Sol Shafer and Liesl Heinz both broke school records in the 5k as well as hit national qualifying marks. Shafer finished seventh overall with a new personal best time of 15:27.27 with Heinz racing to a PR time of 19:44.15. Daniel Kyle (17:54.52), Cora Gagne (22:18.41), and Ainsley Zimmerman (23:16.12) also all raced to new personal bests in the 5k.
In the men's 10k, Evan Seaman shaved minute off of his personal best as he crossed the finish line first over all with a national qualifying of time of 34:04.46. Close behind in third place was teammate Marc Johnson who also finished with a new PR and national qualifying time of 34:10.68.
In a field of 37 runners, Luke Fressel sped down the track in the 200 meter in seventh place. His time of 22.34 was good enough for a NCCAA national qualifying spot. Misha Gray (23.58), Leonardo Moto (23.67 for a new PR), and Isaac Vera Cruz (25.42) also competed in the event.
Competing in the women's 200 meter event, Alyssa Marks hit a time of 28.10 to sit second all-time in school history. Melody Davis and Alexa Marks hit personal bests in the event with times of 28.87 and 30.75.
Looking to continue the success on Saturday, the Bruins returned to the field in Columbia, South Carolina.
Luke Fressel's time of 11.18 was good enough to qualify him for nationals in the 100 meter. Misha Gray dropped a new personal record as he raced around the track in the 400 meter hurdles. His time of 59.03 put him third place overall.
In the women's 800 meter race, Alyssa Marks recorded a fifth place finish and new personal best with a time of 28.10. Joel Batres-Mena also hit a PR in the 800 with a time of 2:02.69.
The final PR of the weekend came to Levi Gerbitz in the 1500 meter race as he stopped the clock at 4:35.88.
In a field of 11 schools, the women's team finished in sixth with 24 points. The men's program finished with 22 points for seventh place.
"We still have a lot of racing in front of us," said Coach Roach. "This is exciting, and I am looking forward watching the team as we progress. The dedication and teamwork makes this a really fun team to be park of."
Full results from the weekend meet can be found
here.
