Hofacket, Steinmetz set school records at Concordia Invite

SEWARD, Neb. – Freshman Wren Hofacket added a second school record to her resume, while Grace Steinmetz set her third at Saturday's Concordia Invitational. The meet served as the final tune-up for the Bellevue University track and field teams before next week's Frontier Conference Championships.

Following her record run in the 600-yard event last weekend, Hofacket added the 600-meter mark to her list of accolades with a time of 1:43.33. That time currently ranks eighth on the Frontier Conference performance list.

On the men's side, Trey Larson moved to No. 2 on the Bruin 600-meter list with a time of 1:26.20. He was followed by Jack Brown in 1:29.58.

Steinmetz achieved her third NAIA qualifying standard of the season as she lowered her personal best in the mile. In a race against a runner from the College of Saint Mary, Steinmetz pulled away on the final lap for the victory in 5:06.69. She is the current Frontier Conference leader in the event. Nationally, Steinmetz now ranks 13th in the mile, 10th in the 3,000 meters, and fifth in the 5,000 meters on the 2026 indoor NAIA lists.

Also in the women's mile, Lydia Cherotich finished just off her season best with a time of 6:11.61. In the men's mile, Jack Brown placed fourth in 4:29.99, with Xavier Mallow finishing seventh in 4:42.23.

The Bruin men opened the meet with a victory in the distance medley relay. Mallow ran a strong mile leg to overtake the Concordia team, crossing the line in 10:27.08. The team, which also included Luis Casallas Vega, Avan Salas, and Cody Fikar, recorded the No. 28 time in the NAIA.

In the 800 meters, Alicia Rivera Camargo ran a season-best 2:34.86 for an 11th-place finish. Ashley Guatemala-Ortiz and Cloey Usher finished in 2:48.64 and 2:59.60, respectively. For the men, Robbie Siford ran a personal-best 2:04.91.

In the sprints, Terry Kalonji ran a season-best 25.44 in the 200 meters. Avan Salas clocked a 53.50 in the 400 meters, while Emily Usher finished the women's 400 meters in 1:09.28.

In distance action, Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo ran to a fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:30.01.

Both Bruin squads contested the 4x400-meter relay to conclude the meet. The women's team of Guatemala, Hofacket, and the Usher sisters took the win in 4:40.58. The men's team of Siford, Larson, Fikar, and Kalonji finished as runners-up with a time of 3:50.01.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "We're still getting personal bests out of the athletes who have managed to stay healthy, but unfortunately, we've had a lot of sick kids. Hopefully, another week of recovery before the conference meet brings them back. I'm excited about our first Frontier Conference meet next week. It's going to be a completely different and deeper meet from what we experienced in the North Star."

Up Next: The Frontier Conference Championships will be held on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., beginning next Saturday afternoon and concluding with a full slate of events on Sunday.