Bruins Conclude Indoor Track Season on High Note; Kipyegon Qualifies for Nationals

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The Bellevue University distance track team concluded their indoor track season at Sunday's North Star Athletic Association Championship hosted by Dakota State at the Sanford Athletic Center on the campus of SDSU in Brookings. The day was highlighted by two individual conference championships, three school records, and an NAIA national qualifying mark.

The 5,000-meter run was the day's first event, and it produced a 3-4-5 placing by Xavier Mallow, Richard Marcoux, and Jose Lara Flores. Mallow's time of 15:08.79 was a Bruin school record, while Marcoux (15:36.46) and Lara (15:39.49) ran the third and fourth fastest time in history. Griffin Kipchumba ran to a personal best of 16:09.73, while Alejandro Corona Martinez recorded a lifetime best of his own in 18:18.72.

In the mile run, Luis Casallas Vega ran to the runner-up spot and an All-Conference honor (Top 3) with a season-best 4:30.38, a five-second improvement over his earlier effort.

In the 800-meter run, Ronald Kipyegon followed top-ranked Nolan Slominski of Dakota State for all but the last 20 meters of the race and then stormed by for the victory in an NAIA qualifying mark of 1:52.92. Kipyegon now advances to the national meet in two weeks at Gainesville, Florida, and is the third qualifier in the history of the Bruin program. He is currently ranked at No. 21 among the nation's half-milers. Casallas Vega also scored for the Bruins (Top 8) with an eighth place 1:59.75, followed by Xavier Mallow running 2:04.64 and a second personal best for Alejandro Corona Martinez in 2:19:97.

The final individual distance event produced the second Bruin victory as Richard Marcoux's strong move over the last lap propelled him to the title at 3,000 meters in 8:56.64. Jose Lara Flores was a Bruin scorer in seventh running 9:11.09, with Collin Kotz just behind in 9:18.21. Griffin Kipchumba Kisoryo ran a personal best of 9:22.23.

The Bruin men concluded the meet in the 4 x 400-meter relay, where the team of Ronald Kipyegon, Xavier Mallow, Collin Kotz, and Richard Marcoux established a new school record in 3:42.27

The Bruin women were represented in two events. Alicia Rivera Camargo was 7th in the mile run with a season-best 5:52.77, while Ashley Guatemala was eighth in 6:14.74 to put the Bruins on the team scoreboard. Kimberly Kisoryo ran 800 meters in 3:35.31.

The Bruin men finished fourth in the field of five teams, scoring fifty-one points, while the women were fifth with three points.

On Friday night, the men's distance medley relay attempted to meet the NAIA qualifying standard at the SDSU Indoor Classic held at the same facility as the conference meet on the following day. As with their first attempt, the Bruin team of Mallow, Kipyegon, Casallas, and Marcoux came within a second of the time to beat running 10:14.87. Despite having the nation's 29th fastest time, they were unable to advance.

Assistant Coach Matt Musiel: "I told the team that this season has raised the bar of expectation. We are disappointed about missing the qualifying mark in the relay, but the fact that we are giving it a shot is a huge step forward for us. Ronald's run in the 800 is an example of where we're going, and I can't wait to see what he does in Florida."

NSAA Champions of Character were recognized from each school, and the Bruins receiving this year's award were Ashley Guatemala for the women and Jaedon Maxfield for the men.

Kipyegon will compete in the preliminary round of the 800 meters at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Gainesville on Thursday, February 27. After a short break, the remainder of the team will continue training in anticipation of the outdoor season, with competition beginning March 21 at the Spire Distance Carnival in Leavenworth, Kansas.