ALLENDALE, Mich. – Less than a week after combining for six NCAA Provisional standards at the New Mexico Classic, the Colorado School of Mines track and field teams collected nine more qualifying times in the distance events Friday at the Grand Valley State Big Meet in Allendale, Michigan.
Paced by junior Sean Gildea, the Orediggers had three runners record Provisional marks and finish in the top-five of the men's 5000. Gildea was second overall out of 141 runners in 14:15.14, just edging classmate Andrew Epperson at the line by 0.08 seconds, while sophomore Phil Schneider stopped the clock in fifth with a time of 14:22.50.
All three times were new personal records and occupy second through fourth in the Mines' all-time top-five at the 5K distance.
Red-shirt freshman Derek Alcorn just missed his first qualifying time of the season, finishing 0.19 seconds shy of the Provisional requirement of 14:47.09 in 17th place.
A second trio of Orediggers turned in Provisional times in the men's mile with senior Russell Drummond clocking a season-best time of 4:08.97 to take seventh overall, followed by junior Frank Socha in 12th with a new collegiate-best of 4:11.84 and red-shirt freshman Drew Kerschieter in 15th with a personal-best of 4:12.68.
The times rank fifth- , sixth- and seventh-fastest, respectively, in the school record book.
At the 3000 distance, junior Tyler Curtis ran his second individual Provisional mark, improving upon last week's personal-record by over 12 seconds with a time of 8:27.74, the fourth-best time ever by an Oredigger.
Red-shirt sophomore Chloe Gustafson obliterated the program record in the women's 3000 with a Provisional time of 10:01.19, taking 12th overall and fourth among Division II runners. Gustafson bettered the previous school record, set by Sydney Laws in 2009, by over 16 seconds.
Seniors Hannah Schuster and Hannah Cooling also set new career-best efforts and qualifying times in the mile and 5000. Schuster posted the seventh-fastest time of 49 runners and second-fastest ever at Mines in the mile in 4:55.14 and Cooling took 20th out of 109 runners in the 5000 with the fourth-fastest effort in program lore of 17:26.96.
The Big Meet concludes tomorrow at the Kelly Family Sports Center, beginning at 10 a.m. with the open field events.
GVSU BIG MEET INFORMATION PAGE
