Fast times for Bruins at Bearcat invite
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The Bellevue University track squad traveled to Northwest Missouri State University for two days of high-level racing at the Bearcat Invite on Feb. 6-7. The meet, which featured over 50 teams competing at the Hughes Fieldhouse, produced a number of NCAA Division II and NAIA national qualifying marks.
The Bruins were led on Friday by a pair of seventh-place finishes. Luis Casallas Vega lowered his own school record by two seconds in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:30.88. On the women's side, Maggie Boley finished 15th in the 1,000 meters in 3:09.55.
Boley returned to lead off the women's distance medley relay. Joined by Emily Usher, Wren Hofacket, and Grace Steinmetz, the team ran to a seventh-place finish in 12:46.88.
Friday's final event saw Jose Lara Flores record the third-fastest time in Bruin history in the 5,000-meter run, clocking in at 15:27.33.
Saturday's events were highlighted by Wren Hofacket's 13th-place finish in the 600-yard run. Hofacket set a school record of 1:36.25 in the event, which was added to the schedule to accommodate MIAA athletes.
In the 800 meters, Casallas Vega finished just off his personal best with a time of 1:56.97. That mark is the fifth-fastest in program history and ranks fifth on the current Frontier Conference performance list.
Three Bruin men contested the mile run, with Xavier Mallow crossing in 4:27.37, followed by Jack Brown (4:30.06) and Cody Fikar (4:37.77). Alicia Rivera Camargo produced a season-best time of 5:47.46, the sixth-best mark in Bruin history. Lydia Cherotich finished the mile in 6:16.32.
In the meet's final event, Lara ran a personal best of 8:64.43 in the 3,000-meter run, a time that places him seventh on the Bruin all-time list.
The Bruins will have one final tune-up before the Frontier Conference Championships when they travel to Concordia University next Saturday for the Concordia Invitational at Walz Fieldhouse.