Heading into the 2025 outdoor track season, the Bluejays carried strong momentum from a 2024 campaign marked by standout achievements. School records from Marcos Gonzalez in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Ryan Montera in the 10,000 meters highlighted the men’s success, along with a third-place finish in the 4×800-meter relay at the Big East Indoor Championships. On the women’s side, a string of impressive middle-distance performances placed several athletes among the program’s best. With that foundation, expectations were high for the Bluejays to build on their success in 2025.
Creighton did not disappoint in its outdoor season opener, kicking off the team’s campaign in South Dakota in impressive fashion with two victories and a school record at the USD Early Bird meet.
“[It was a] really good season opener,” Creighton Head Coach Chris Gannon said. “A slew of PRs, a school record and a handful of all-time marks definitely generates some excitement for the outdoor season.”
Marcos Gonzalez hit the ground running for the Bluejays in the 3,000-meter steeplechase competition, racking up a victory for the Bluejays with a time of 9:25.26. Gonzalez crossed the finish line for the win two seconds before runner-up Carson Lauterbach of South Dakota finished the race. The 2025 time was seven seconds better than Gonzalez’s performance at the USD Early Bird this time last year.
Other Bluejays also stepped up in the team’s outdoor season debut. In the 800-meter race on April 4, Ryan Henrickson finished fourth with a time of 1:51.89, edging out his other teammates by less than a second. Coming up just behind Hendrickson was Evan Kraus, who finished with a time of 1:52.08 and Jake Ziebarth, who clocked in at 1:52.78.
Both Hendrickson and Kraus’ times stood out as the fastest times ever posted in one of Creighton’s debut races of the outdoor season.
Logan Piper, Henry Slagle and Jack Sorensen also posted noteworthy numbers for the men’s team, with Piper finishing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (56.52), Slagle claiming seventh in the 5,000 meters (15:04.40) and Sorensen securing ninth with a time of 33:14.26 in the 10K.
The women’s team also kicked off the outdoor season with momentum on multiple fronts.
First, Anika Nettekoven added her name once again to the record book on the first day of USD Early Bird. The junior eclipsed the previous record for the 800-meter race, clocking a time of 2:14.7 and earning herself both the outdoor and indoor 800-meter program record. The 2:14.7 mark landed her in fourth place in the women’s 800.
In the same race, Carly Manchester finished fifth with a time of 2:15.01, and Katie Roche recorded a time of 2:15.81. Both of these times, paired with Nettekoven’s school record-setting time, eclipsed the previous school record of 2:16.4 set by Manchester.
Other notable finishes featured junior Katherine Soule’s runner-up time of 17:36.03 in the women’s 5K, along with Natalee Gehred’s eighth place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 26.64.
“It was great to be back competing after a successful indoor season,” Assistant Coach Matthew Fayers said. “Our 800 crew kept that momentum going and wasted no time setting some fast times to open the outdoor season. On the women’s side, our ladies set the No. 1, 2, 3 and 10 times in school history for the 800 meters; on the men’s side, they ran the No. 2, 3 and 5 times. Those top four guys are fit, and I’m excited to see what they can accomplish these next few weeks.”
Building on a strong start to the outdoor season, the Bluejays aim to maintain their momentum as they head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Jim Duncan Invitational.
“We have work to do and will keep progressing towards our goals for later in the season,” Gannon said.