LOS ANGELES, Calif./NORTHRIDGE,
Calif. - Mar. 12 - After a first-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the Oxy
Distance Carnival, Cameron Levins has set a new Southern Utah record of
13:49.82. Levins time shaved almost eight seconds off the first-place record he
set last weekend at the UNLV Invitational. Many other T-Birds also found
success this weekend as the team split up for the Oxy Distance Carnival in Los
Angeles, Calif. and the Northridge Invitational in Northridge, Calif.
"We saw a great
performance from Cam this weekend," said head coach Eric Houle. "I think it
will be remembered for years to come."
Eric Sandall also
finished well for the men in Los Angeles, taking sixth place in the 800-meter
run with a time of 1:55.35. The women were led by Kirsten Bradford, whose
third-place finish and time of 4:37.67 in the 1,500-meter run ranks ninth for
Southern Utah. Steffi Minson also took home a third-place finish with her time
of 11:24.45 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The women in Northridge
also performed well as Chelsey Allen took home a first place finish in the
100-meter dash with a time of 12.15. Shaye Maurer led in the 100-meter hurdles,
finishing second with a time of 14.04. She was closely followed by Jasmine
Paicely, who finished in third place with a time of 14.49.
Maurer, Paicely and Allen
also helped the women's 4x100-meter relay team race to a second-place finish
with a time of 47.75, along with teammate Christina Day. The 4x400-meter relay
team took home a first-place finish with a time of 3:46.40. That team included
Maurer, Allen, Day and Kylie Frandsen.
The throwers were led by
Kayla Kovar, who finished second in the discus throw, improving her fifth-place
SUU rank with a mark of 154-06. Adrienne Hill followed closely with a
third-place finish and a mark of 149-07. Amber Madril also found success as she
placed third in the javelin with a mark of 129-04.
The men's team was led in
Northridge by hurdler Kodai Kusano, who took home a first-place finish in the
110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.77. Kusano also earned a fifth-place finish
in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.84.
Cody Olsen led the
throwers with a first-place finish in the javelin for the second week in a row
with a mark of 207-05. Tyler Anderson also had another successful meet as he
finished sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 170-06. Anderson's mark ranks
sixth in Southern Utah's top ten.
"It was an awesome
weekend for us," Coach Houle continued. "We had an ideal track, ideal competition
and ideal weather and it resulted in some great performances in both locations."
The Thunderbirds will
take a two-week break from competition before traveling to Palo Alto, Calif.
for the Stanford Invitational and Tempe, Ariz. for the Arizona State
Invitational. Both meets will take place Mar. 26-27.
