Cross country set school records in both the men’s and women’s 800-meter at the Wildcat Classic and had a strong showing at the Kansas Relay two weeks later with the season coming to a close in the coming weeks.
School records were set by both Tommy Ward and Carly Manchester for the 800-meter run. Ward ran the 800-meter at 1:54.22. Manchester ran the 800-meter in 2:16.78. Both times were fast enough to put them on top of the leaderboards.
In the women’s 800-meter, seven of the top nine spots were wearing a Creighton uniform. For the men, Creighton held down the top four places led by sophomore Ward. Three freshmen followed Ward, placing second, third and fourth.
“Seeing three teammates right behind me is even better,” Ward said about Creighton’s performance in the 800-meter. “It shows our middle-distance depth and a lot of future promise to have three underclassmen right there.”
With the Wildcat classic being a starter, assistant coach Matthew Fayers said he wasn’t too surprised with the performances of his runners. He said he sees them every day and knows that they competed and performed at the level they were capable of.
“They really ran up to what they’re capable [of] and they’re capable of so much more… I’m excited to see them continue to grow and develop,” Fayers said.
Following a strong performance in the Wildcat Classic, the Bluejays did not disappoint during their relay meet in Kansas.
On April 13, both Danielle Hotalling and Marcos Gonzalez took the win for the 3k steeplechase race, with Hotalling running a 10:48.47 and Gonzalez finishing at 9:36.71.
Three other Bluejays placed in the top three of their respective events, as Tommy Ward placed second in the 1500 meter, Caroline Rupper got third place in the 10,000 meter and Ryan Montera also earned third in the 10,000-meter race.
The next day, the distance medley runners made their mark on the track, as men’s medley team consisting of Ward, Liam Murphy, Brian Hiltebrand and Jake Ziebarth ran a time of 10:24.54, while Carly Manchester, Alexis Huddin, Jessica Barich and Hotalling ran a 12:29.41 as both teams placed second.
The Bluejays return for their next meet on April 27 as they head to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays.
Abbie Gallant contributed to this story.