SEATTLE, Wash - Feb. 9 - Southern Utah runners had an eventful weekend as members of the distance and sprints teams recorded a series of personal best times at the University of Washington's Husky Classic. Two T-Birds, Ryan Barrus and Mayra Franco, also landed Big Sky qualifying times while competing in Seattle.
The women led the way at UW as distance runner Jamie Smith posted personal bests in both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs. Smith's 10th-place 5,000-meter time of 16:33.87 ranks second in Southern Utah's all-time records and third in the Big Sky, while her 15th-place 3,000-meter time of 9:41.11 ranks third in the school records and fifth in the conference.
Kirsten Bradford and Sylvia Bedford also recorded personal records in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meters. Bradford finished 21st in the 3,000-meters with a fourth-best SUU record time of 9:47.74, followed by Bedford in 31st place with a time of 9:55.43. Bradford then raced to a third-best school record in the 5,000-meters with a time of 16:49.83, followed by Bedford with a fourth-place record time of 16:51.19. Bradford's and Bedford's 5,000-meter run times also place fifth and sixth respectively in the Big Sky.
Teammates Aubrey Bryson and Lizzy Butler also represented Southern Utah at the Husky Classic, racing in the 800-meters and recording respective times of 2:16.89 and 2:19.96. Ryan Barrus led the men at UW with a conference qualifying time of 14:19.01 in the 5,000-meters, ranking second overall in the Big Sky and fifth in the school's all-time records. Barrus also recorded the second-fastest 3,000-meters time for Southern Utah with a personal best time of 8:13.39. This time currently ranks fifth in the conference.
Fellow distance runners Jon Lee and Devan Antczak represented the T-Birds in UW's 800-meter run, each setting season bests with respective times of 1:55.65 and 1:56.36. Three SUU runners raced in the mile, with John Hart posting a season best of 4:18.10 alongside Elijah Rono (4:17.54) and Clinton Rhoton (4:20.73).
Two Southern Utah sprinters, Mayra Franco and Dallin Tavoian, also travelled to Seattle this weekend. Franco posted a fifth-best Southern Utah time of 7.78 in the 60-meters which, converted to a 55-meters time of 7.23, qualifies her for a place at the conference championship. Franco also raced to a team season best of 25.46 in the 200-meters and ranks eighth in SUU's all-time records.
On the men's side, Tavoian recorded a personal best in the 200-meters with a 22.58 finish along with a 12th-place finish in the 400-meters with a time of 49.65.
Southern Utah Track and Field will be back on the road next weekend as the T-Birds travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the NAU Tune-Up on Feb. 15. The team will then gear up for it's first indoor track and field championship in the Big Sky Conference, set to take place Feb. 22-23 in Bozeman, Mont., hosted by Montana State.
