McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men’s distance track team got their 2010 campaign underway on a high note this weekend at the Linfield Icebreaker. Freshman
Michael Bennett set a school record in the 3000m Steeplechase and junior
Sam Robison followed with another record in the 10,000m.
Robison got the festivities off strong on Friday night, taking 37 seconds off of his own school record in the 10,000m run, taking sixth place in 32:37. Robison and
Rob Rich both earned CCC qualification in the event as Rich took 13th place with a personal record time of 33:54.
Then it was Bennett’s turn on Saturday morning. The freshman won the Steeplechase event by seven seconds, coming in with his new school record time of 10:22 to qualify for the CCC championships. Head Coach Heike McNeil said, “Michael went out very controlled and looked smooth the entire way. He took the lead with just over a mile left and never looked back.”
Bennett also led the team later in the day in the 800m run, establishing his collegiate PR at 2:03.60.
Jeremy Aucoin followed with a 2:04.90 and
Kevin Wythe also ran a personal record with a time of 2:21.31.
Aucoin also ran in the 400m event, finishing at 55.02. In the 1500 meter run, freshman
Benton Urquhart got his collegiate career off to a positive start, running a 4:19.74, just a half second off of the school record. McNeil said, “Benton was limited in workouts this week to some cross training on the bike because of a hamstring injury. We asked him not to kick at the end of his race to prevent reinjury and even though he had it in him, he was disciplined enough to restrain himself.”
In the 5,000m run, Robison returned to the track to run a 16:09, the second fastest time in school history.
Brandon Kundert followed with a PR run of 16:24.
Northwest Christian will be back in action on March 18th when they travel to Salem for the Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by Willamette University.