Lara, Keter Capture Sioux City Relay Titles
SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Bruin distance runners Jose Lara and Alvin Keter swept the two longest races at the 60th annual Sioux City Relays held on the campus of Morningside University on April 11 and 12. Richard Marcoux captured two runner-up finishes and Alicia Rivera Camargo added one of her own for the top female finish at the meet.
The meet kicked off on Friday evening with the women's 5,000 run as the Bruins placed both of their runners on the podium (Top 5). Camargo Rivera ran to the runner-up spot finishing in 20:41.53 while Ashley Guatemala ran her 5K debut in 21:44.56 to finish fourth.
In a super competitive 800 meters, Ronald Kipyegon ran to a sixth place finish in 1:53.89, taking 2-1/2 seconds off of the existing outdoor record and just one second behind his indoor clocking of 1:52.94. He is currently ranked second in the NSAA. Luis Casallas Vega turned in his best outdoor effort in 1:57.94 to finish eighteenth in the field of 53 runners. Robbie Siford ran a lifetime best 2:08.85 while Alejandro Corona Martinez posted his personal best running 2:15.29.
The final event of the evening under the lights of Olsen Stadium saw Alvin Keter pull away from two Dordt athletes in the second mile of the 10,000 meter (6.2 miles) run to record the victory in 31:30.91. That time is currently the fastest in the NSAA and no. 26 on the NAIA list.
Day two of the meet was held under warm temperatures and strong winds which slowed times. The day began with Richard Marcoux's Bruin debut in the 3,000 meter steeplechase as he ran to a runner-up finish in 9:59.62, the second fastest clocking in the NSAA.
In the 1500 meter run, Rivera Camargo posted an eighth place finish in 5:26.86 while Guatemala recorded a time of 5:47.08. For the men, Marcoux repeated his earlier runner-up finish, this time finishing second to a South Dakota State athlete. Marcoux's time was 4:14.27 and remains atop the NSAA list. Siford ran to a 4:42.56 time while Corona Martinez ran his second personal best of the meet in 4:44.47.
The meet's final event produced the Bruin's second title with Jose Lara Flores winning the 5,000 meter run easily in the warm and windy conditions, crossing the finish in 16:32.75. Lara Flores is currently ranked third in the NSAA behind two teammates.
Head Coach Craig Christians: "It was fun to see our athletes have success and climb up the podium to receive their award t-shirts. The wind on day two was unfortunate but we're kind of used to it now. We are gaining a lot of fitness and we're going to try a couple of different meets in the coming weeks so we're all looking to forward to those chances to run fast."
The Bruins travel to Lawrence, Kansas for the fabled Kansas Relays on Thursday and Friday and should see a high level of competition.