Lizarribar Smashes School Record in 5k During First Day of Meyo Invite
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In the first day of the 23rd annual Meyo Invite at Notre Dame, it was the distance runners who helped pace Kent State.
"We had a bunch of performances we expected tonight but what really stood out was Lizarribar's performance," Kent State director of Track and Field and Cross Country Bill Lawson said.
In her first collegiate 5000 meters race, junior Alex Lizarribar finished with a time of 17:00.50 to set a new school record by more than a second faster than Molly Hammer's mark set in 2005.
Not to be outdone, seniors Aiman Scullion and Andrew Carnes finished with times 14:26.11 and 14:29.57 in the men's 5000 meters.
"In the men's 5000 meters with Aiman Scullion and Andrew Carnes finished very close in their respective heat, which puts them at the top of the conference. Those guys ran very well," Lawson said.
The Kent State men and women distance medley relay also made their debut appearances this season Friday night. The women's DMR team finished fourth with a time of 11:43.38, the fifth fastest time in school history.
"The women's DMR had a pretty good season-opening run," Lawson said. "We had a really strong leg from Juliet Alrich, running a 55-high split. Jessica Lhotsky also ran very well."
Finally, freshman Javon Walker took seventh in the 300 meters with a time of 34:91. The time was 0.35 better than fifth-year senior Nathan Blackwell of Eastern Michigan, who has previously won the conference championship in the 400 meters.
"Our true freshman in Javon Walker ran faster than former 3400 meter champion, fifth-year senior Nate Blackwell," Lawson said. "He runs Eastern's anchor of the 4x400, so I like that snap shot there with a freshman running faster than a fifth-year senior."
With many Kent State athletes competing in day two of the Meyo Invitational tomorrow, Lawson feels that this will give him a good feel three weeks from the conference championship.
"Tomorrow, we look for a provisional mark from Jessica Lhotsky and Destin Heasley in the 800 meters. We're also going to take a run at the school record in the men's 4x400 relay and improve the women's 4x400 time," Lawson said. "Curtis Eaton Jr. will compete in the 400 meters with some of our younger quarter milers.
"We're going to have a lot of people competing and it will be a nice snap shot of where we are in the middle of the season," Lawson added.
