Bruins open outdoor season at St. Mary

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- The Bellevue University distance track squad opened their 2025 outdoor track campaign at Friday evening's Spire Distance Carnival hosted by the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kan. The distance portion of the two-day meet featured all of the distance events from 800 to 5,000 meters. Times were slowed by strong winds early in the evening but improved as winds calmed as the night progressed.

The day's events kicked off with the 800-meter run, where Robbie Siford was just off a lifetime best running 2:10.69 while Alejandro Corona Martinez clocked 2:19 15 to record a personal best of his own. Kimberly Kisoryo ran 3:50.84 for the women.

Eighty-seven men contested the 1500-meter run in six heats as the Bruins' highest placing was recorded by a 17th place Richard Marcoux and his 4:02.79 time, just one second from his life best. Xavier Mallow crossed the line in 4:08.11 for 25th and Luis Casallas Vega was fourth in his heat and 31st overall in 4:11.06. The Bruins had two entries among the fifty-four female runners, with Alicia Rivera Camargo recording a 5:28.71 time and Ashley Guatemala running a personal best of 5:51.58.

The highlight of the day was the men's 5,000 meters, which was run under the lights with significantly lighter winds. Jose Lara Flores ran a well-executed race to a win in heat two and took one minute from the Bruin school record with his personal best 15:33.70. In the final 5,000 heat, Lara Flores' record was short-lived as Bruin newcomer Alvin Keter made his debut and took that record even lower as he finished in 20th overall in 15:12.82.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "I'm glad we were able to get some racing in this early in the season. Everyone ran very well, considering the blizzards and other training obstacles we've faced lately, so I'm really encouraged that much of the team is already running at a personal best level. It's a great indication of what we can do over the next couple of months."

The Bruins travel to Wayne State next Saturday, March 28, when they compete at the Wildcat Classic.