Dixie State University’s women’s distance track team set school records as it wrapped up the last meet of the season.
The runners competed in five track events and two field events at the Utah State Mark Faldmo Invitational Friday and Saturday in Logan.
Sophomore Katy Brandon set the DSU record in the 1500-meter with a time of 5:19.02.
“I had a strategy to run the race, and I felt very strong,” said Brandon, a junior psychology major from Atlanta.”I didn’t really know what to expect because this was my first 1500-meter so I was just going out there to do my best.”
Although Brandon set the school record, she placed 13th out of 20 competitors, and Freshman Alyssa Haring was right behind with a time of 5:19.73. Freshman Kacie Labrum and sophomore Morgan Lacey also set personal bests in the 1500-meter despite placing 16th and last place respectively.
Five DSU runners competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase, finishing within two minutes of each other. Junior Skyler Storie, who placed 6th out of 10 runners, was one of the first DSU runners to cross the finish line with a time of 12:34.42.
In the 5000-meter run, Storie was also the first DSU runner to cross the finish line with a time of 19:48.16, which was almost two minutes slower than the winner. Three other DSU runners set personal bests in the 5000-meter run. Haring placed 9th with a time of 19:49.01, while Brandon placed 10th with a time of 20:22.15, and Freshman Marieta Wright finished last with a time of 20:38.46.
Sophomore Rebecca Opoulos also set a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.03. Opoulos also ran in the 100-meter hurdles finishing last with a time of 16.48.
More DSU records were set after freshman Gemille Eldredge competed in shot put and discus. Eldredge tossed the shot 8.65 meters and threw the disc 24.87 meters.
“I feel like everyone had pretty good morale after this meet finished,” said Eldredge, a freshman general education major from Sandy.
Head coach Justin Decker said the nice weather also contributed to the runners’ faster times overall during this two-day meet.
“It was probably our best meet of the season,” Decker said.
Although this was the last meet for a lot of DSU’s runners, Decker said a few runners on the team will qualify to compete in the Pacific West Conference Championships.
“We aren’t sure yet who all is qualified for the [PacWest Conference Championships], but it will probably be five or six [runners on] the team that will qualify,” Decker said.
The PacWest Conference Championships will start April 28 in San Diego.
