Steinmetz, Mejia Run to School Records in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- With an opportunity to run a fast early-season time in a deep and competitive field, Grace Steinmetz and David Felipe Mejia traveled to St. Louis for Friday's Washington University Distance Carnival. Both athletes returned to Bellevue with school records in the 10,000-meter run.

Mejia lined up in the early afternoon, facing temperatures in the 40's and a stiff north breeze that made conditions feel near freezing. He was in search of an NAIA "B" provisional standard of 30:53 and held pace through the first three miles before a gradual slowdown over the second half of the race brought him home in 31:10.46, seventeen seconds shy of the mark. That performance is currently the third-fastest NAIA time this season, but placed him just 48th of 97 finishers, illustrating the level of competition at this event. 

Steinmetz had to wait until dark for her heat as she was among the top entrants, and by the start of her race, the wind had calmed, making for near-perfect conditions. She challenged for the lead over the first half of the race, and despite running a second half that was eight seconds faster, she dropped to sixth overall among the fifty-five finishers. Her time of 35:12.96 is currently the fastest in the NAIA and eclipsed the "A" (automatic) qualifying standard by over a minute. She has now qualified for the NAIA national championship in Asheville, North Carolina, in late May. 

Head Coach Craig Christians: "I think David may be a little disappointed, but I  was very impressed. This is coming from a guy who has been in Bellevue for about two weeks and everything that comes with that adjustment. To come that close to the standard is great. He'll get one or more shots at it, and I'm confident he'll get it."

"This was just a continuation of all the things Grace has done during her freshman year. She has no fear when it comes to racing, and when you consider that this was her first time ever racing the distance, it's even more impressive. She is clearly among the elite in NAIA distance running."

The remainder of the team will compete at the Central Nebraska Challenge in Kearney, Neb. on Sunday, Mar. 29, and then the entire squad travels to Lincoln for next weekend's Husker Tune Up hosted by the University of Nebraska.