Griffin Track and Field Squads Compete at IWU
St. Louis- The men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Keck Invitational hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday.
On the women's side senior Alyssa Tonner broke her own school record from last year in the 3000m. Her time of 10:55.16 placed her 4th overall in the race and was 2 seconds better than her previous mark. Tonner pushed the pace early on in the race, running even splits and looking strong. Last weekend the senior opened up her season running 5:33.55 for the mile, dominating her heat from the gun and setting another indoor school record.
Sophomore Olivia Beggs ran the 3000m run as well. She faded after a fast first mile in, posting a time of 12:09. "Considering she had a rushed warm up, felt the revenge of the Jimmy Johns sandwich she had for lunch, and went out at her mile pace for the first 5 laps, she did pretty well," commented Head Coach Kelli Blake. "These early season meets are about finding a good race routine and getting finding a good racing rhythm again."
Freshmen Becca Buehler ran a lifetime best in the 400m dash in a time of 65.48 and a near-personal best in the 200m dash in 29.52. "The fact that she's running faster than she's ever run before, this early in the season on a indoor track, shows that Becca was very dedicated this fall and winter," said Coach Blake. In both races she closed well the last 50m, passing several competitors with her strong finish. On the men's side, freshmen Doan Trieu had his career debut in the 400m. Trieu, who mainly pole vaulted in high school, will be transitioning to the sprints and jumps for the Griffins.