Steinmetz punches ticket to NAIA Indoor Championships

LINCOLN, Neb. -- On the opening event of Friday's Prairie Wolf Invite, Grace Steinmetz ran under the NAIA qualifying standard for 5,000 meters and will be traveling to Gainesville, Fla., in early March for the Indoor Track and Field Championships. She is the first Bruin female in history to qualify for the event. She clocked 17:20.78 as she handily won the meet, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan at UNL's Bob Devany Center. That time was twenty seconds under the "B" standard and just two seconds from the automatic "A" standard. Each school is allowed to enter three athletes who meet the "B" standard. Her time was a Bruin school record, the top time in the Frontier Conference, and is currently No. 4 in the NAIA.

Steinmetz got the Bruins off to a great start at the meet, where four school records were established while multiple athletes ran to lifetime bests. One of those personal bests came from Jose Lara Flores, placing seventh in the mile run crossing in 4:26.43, a time that ranks fifth in the Frontier. Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo also set a life best in 4:44.19 while Robbie Siford ran 4:47.30.

At 800 meters, Luis Casallas Vega was just a half second from his best as he ran to a sixth-place finish in 1:57.04, the fifth-fastest time in Bruin history and No. 4 in the Frontier. Cody Fikar lowered his best to 2:00.66 with Trey Larson finishing in 2:03.91. For the women, Wren Hofacket ran 2:33.93, and Lydia Cherotich covered the half mile in 2:49.72. 

Maggie Boley's mission to meet the "B" standard in the 1000-meter run once again fell just short as she ran to a 3:00.25 school record and personal best, but just outside the 2:59.37 mark. Xavier Mallow ran to an eighth-place finish in the men's race with a personal best 2:38.50, while Robbie Siford also eclipsed his life best in 2:50.39. 

At 3000 meters, Ashley Guatemala-Ortiz ran a personal best 12:38.05 while the men were represented by Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo's 9:35.18 twelfth-place finish. 

Sprinting for the Bruins were Avan Salas, just a tenth of a second from his personal best at 200 meters in 23.38. Terry Kalonji ran a lifetime best 25.82 in that race. Emily Usher ran to a 30.70 time for the women. 

The final event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay, set school records for both the men's and women's squads. The team of Boley, Hofacket, Usher, and Steinmetz lowered the old mark by nearly two seconds, running 4:31.08. The men's squad included Salas, Fikar, Larson, and Mallow, and they also cut two seconds from the old record in 3:33.61. 

Head Coach Craig Christians: "We're getting to the heart of the season, and we keep running faster, and that's the plan. We trained in some tough conditions this week. I'm proud of the attitude and effort. That gets reflected in our results."

The Bruins return to Concordia for the second time this season next Saturday (Jan. 31) when they will compete in the Concordia Classic.