BELLINGHAM, WA - Two meets were added to the 2024 track and field season records this weekend starting in Corvallis, OR, at the Oregon State University High Performance meet, followed by the Ralph Vernacchai Invitational hosted by Western Washington University.
At the Whyte Track and Field Center in Corvallis, OR, three Eagles posted personal bests in the 10k, led by Micah Murphy placing second place overall. Murphy's 30.50.15 time achieves an NAIA A standard mark at #12 in the country.
Gavin Darrah marked his new best in the 10k at 32:37.55 and Brennan Koontz at 34:11.59.
"Despite the wind and rain, I thought our team competed really well," says Head Coach Mark Mandi after the Ralph Vernacchai Invite. "Of course, you'd like for everyone to achieve personal bests at the end of the season, but the weather can really change that. So, hopefully we were able to honor God with our effort and attitude."
Though not all Eagles competing this weekend achieved personal bests, a great handful dug deep and reached new marks.
Jack Kopatich ran a 2:02.45 for his new 800m personal record and Kai Ushikubo a 16:23.22 in the 5k.
For the women, Elizabeth Behnke recorded a 1:00.72 in the 400m, a new best as well as a conference qualifying time. In the 5k, Marissa Guthrie led the Eagles with a new 19:56.82 personal record.
Coach Mandi says, "Lizzy attacked the first 200m of her race, which really helped set up a strong second half. Jack did a great job of making adjustments from his 1,500m the day prior at Oregon State, and he stuck his nose right into the thick of things. Kai looked really good out there, helped by the fact that he found a good pack of guys to run with for much of the race that helped him stay focused and competitive.
"Marissa had as big of a personal record at 5k as you could hope for, shaving more than a minute off of her cross country 5k personal record. She had a couple of teammates, Kaylea and Rachel, pace her, which helped a ton, as she was able to just think about running with her friends and keep her mind off of the pace. Overall, I thought we had a lot of really positive things happen out there, and there are a lot of takeaways that will help us get even better in the future."
One regular season meet remains on May 4, as the Eagles travel to McMinnville, OR, to compete in the Linfield Open.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships will take place May 10-11 in Klamath Falls, OR.
