Bruin Men continue improvement at Fred Beile Track Classic

The Bruin men's distance track team continued to cut time from personal bests at Saturday's Fred Beile Indoor Track Classic hosted by Doane University. The Bruins have positioned themselves at the top or among the leaders in the North Star as the conference meet approaches in three weeks.

Saba Khvichava ran his third NSAA leading time today as he won the 800 meters in a school record 1:57.17. He also owns conference-best times in the mile and 3000 meters. His time of 1:57.17 is just outside of the NAIA "B" national qualifying standard and is currently ranked number 23 on the NAIA leaderboard. Aaron Newton and Edrei Murillo turned in fine performances as well, clocking times of 2:05.63 and 2:06.60 to place fifth and seventh, respectively. They currently sit at number six and seven in the NSAA.

In the mile run, the Bruins took the fourth, sixth and twelfth finish spots at Doane. Richard Marcoux ran 4:36.06, followed by a season-best effort from Collin Kotz in 4:40.04, and Kaleb Wooten crossed the line in 4:54.94. Bruin men hold positions one, two, five, and seven among NSAA bests this winter.

Kaleb Wooten came back later in the meet to contest the 1000-meter run, coming home in 2:55.42 to place fifth. Saba Khvichava added a sixth-place finish in the 3000 meters with his 9:18.44 effort, and the men's four by 400 team of Aaron Newton, Collin Kotz, Edrei Murillo, and Kaleb Wooten placed fifth in 3:50.02, a school record.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "We are racing a bit tired right now. The men are working so hard in training, so that's to be expected. I thought Edrei and Collin had some breakthrough races tonight so it's good to see that happening among all of the guys. We're through the first half of the season, and I couldn't be happier with the results so far. I'm excited to see what we can do over the second half."

The men will split the squad next weekend as some will compete at Friday's Concordia Classic while others will contest the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite at UNL on Saturday, February 4.