Times continue to fall at Bearcat Invite

Times continue to fall at Bearcat Invite
February 9, 2025
Results

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The Bruin track team traveled to Northwest Missouri State University over the weekend, and times continued to fall as they raced toward the conclusion of the indoor track season. The super competitive meet featured a large number of NCAA Division II teams as well as NAIA and junior college squads.

Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo started things off on Friday at the 300-meter oval of Hughes Fieldhouse as he ran to a personal best in the 5,000-meter run. His time of 16:10.90 was a ten-second improvement on his previous best.

The men's distance medley relay team came in search of an NAIA national qualifying standard and finished oh-so-close, missing the mark by just 0.37 seconds, crossing the line in 10:14.37. The team of Xavier Mallow (3:07.0 for 1200 meters), Ronald Kipyegon (400 meters in 48.3), Luis Casallas Vega (800 meters in 1:58.5), and Richard Marcoux (1600 meters in 4:20.6) may get one more chance to hit the mark next week.

The Bruins returned to Maryville on Saturday for the meet's second day and began with Ashley Guatemala in the women's mile. Guatemala narrowly missed a season-best as she finished in 6:14.50.

The men's 800-meter run saw both Ronald Kipyegon and Luis Casallas Vega dip under Saba Khvichava's school record. Kipyegon clocked 1:55.86 to put his name at the top of the all-time list, while Casallas Vega moved to the No. 2 position with his 1:56.60.

The final event of the day featured four men in the 3,000-meter run. Richard Marcoux lowered his own school record, turning in an 8:39.36 time for seventh place overall. He was followed closely by Xavier Mallow in a personal best 8;40.08 in eighth place. Jose Lara Flores recorded a personal best 9:07.25, and Collin Kotz crossed the line in 9:17.48 for his best time of the season.

The Bruins hope to achieve the NAIA distance medley relay qualifying time at the Pittsburg State Invite on Friday, Feb. 14, and then it is off to Brookings, S.D., for the North Star Athletic Association Indoor Championship next Sunday, Feb. 16.