Bruins claim first Frontier title, breaks records on Opening Day of Championships
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Day 1 of the two-day Frontier Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships began Saturday, with the Bellevue University Bruins off to a fast start. Ten teams are gathered for the inaugural Frontier Conference meet, held at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of South Dakota State University.
The Bruins contested eight events on the opening day and established six school records in the process.
Grace Steinmetz got things started for the Bruins by capturing the Frontier Conference title in the 5,000-meter run. After a pedestrian first mile, Steinmetz pulled away for a comfortable victory in 18:01.27. Cloey Usher also represented the Bruins in the event, finishing in 22:10.00.
For the men in the 5,000 meters, Jose Lara Flores got the Bruins on the scoreboard with a seventh-place finish, crossing the line in 15:30.92. Jack Brown and Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo placed 14th and 16th, respectively, with times of 15:58.72 and 16:59.11.
Four of the Bruin school records came in the sprint events, as Avan Salas and Emily Usher set two marks apiece. Salas set records in the 60 and 400 meters, running 7.45 and 51.21, respectively. Usher established the women's marks in the same events with times of 8.78 and 1:07.35.
The day's final event also resulted in school records for both squads in the 4x800-meter relay. The women's team of Wren Hofacket, Alicia Rivera Camargo, Ashley Guatemala-Ortiz, and Lydia Cherotich crossed the line in 10:39.62 to finish seventh. The men's quartet—consisting of Luis Casallas Vega, Cody Fikar, Trey Larson, and Xavier Mallow—ran to a fourth-place finish in 7:51.64, which currently stands as the No. 31 time in the NAIA.
Up Next: Day 2 kicks off on Sunday with the mile runs at noon and will conclude with the 4x400-meter relays at 3 p.m.