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Complete Results
SALEM, Ore. — The first unofficial conference meet for the USF track team yielded a new school record, two races wins, four new personal records and 11 top-three finishes at the West Coast Invitational on Saturday night at Williamette University in Salem, Ore.
Junior Jesus Romo was the highlight of the meet for the Dons as he set a new school record in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. He took just 9:05.79 to run the race, besting the previous school record — that he set himself in 2009 — by nearly one second.
Romo began the race in the back of the pack, but began moving up after the first lap. He continued to work his way through the field until he moved into second place. Portland's Jared Bassett broke away from the entire field early on in the race to leave Romo with nearly a 14 second-gap to work with. Romo was forced to run by himself for the final four laps with Bassett too far ahead to catch.
"It's rough when you have to run by yourself," Romo said. "I had to keep motivating myself to keep up the pace. I do feel like I can still run faster if I get in a race where I am racing someone else until the end."
Romo set USF's 12th school record this spring.
Ashley O'Brien and Colin Hopkins won the women's and men's 800 races with O'Brien clocking 2:10.77 and Hopkins finishing in 1:53.13. Hopkins' twin brother Devin was second in the race in 1:53.65.
Senior Nicole Bowler set a new personal best in the 1,500 after finishing fourth in 4:23.76, which will help to move her higher up the regional qualifying list. Eva Krchova ran in the same race, crossing the line second in 4:21.57. Freshman Gustavo Mena also set a new personal record in the 1,500 after taking 3:52.67 to run the race. Teammate Derek DeSantiago ran a strong race as well finish third in 3:48.88.
"Both Eva and Nicole ran really tough," USF coach Helen Lehman-Winters said. "And Gus really went for it and got the PR after knocking on the 3:54 door multiple times."
Freshman Maor Tiyouri's 35:16.57 was a personal record in the 10,000 and good enough for second place. She ran the race solo from the 5,000 meter mark until the end and was the top collegiate finisher in the race. Classmate Jose Madera was second in the men's 10,000 in 30:57.16.
"For our first-ever meet with West Coast Conference teams, it was a great experience," Lehman-Winters said. "It gave our athletes the opportunity to go head-to-head with their peers in the conference and get the whole championship race experience. We are excited to come back again next year."
Results:
Women's 400
2 Aly Drake (San Francisco), 1:00.47
Women's 800
1 Ashley O'Brien (San Francisco), 2:10.77
2 Sophie Curl (San Francisco), 2:12.03
4 Morgan Martin (San Francisco), 2:16.87
9 Sahar Bala (San Francisco), 2:23.98
Women's 1,500
2 Eva Krchova (San Francisco), 4:21.57
4 Nicole Bowler (San Francisco), 4:23.76
Women's 10,000
2 Maor Tiyouri (San Francisco), 35:16.57
6 Alice Baker (San Francisco), 36:15.13
Women's 4X400 Relay
2 San Francisco 'A' 3:57.32 (1) Ashley O'Brien 2) Aly Drake
3) Morgan Martin 4) Sahar Bala
Men's 800
1 Colin Hopkins (San Francisco), 1:53.13
2 Devin Hopkins (San Francisco), 1:53.65
Men's 1,500
3 Derek DeSantiago (San Francisco), 3:48.88
6 Gustavo Mena (San Francisco), 3:52.67
Men's 3,000 Steeplechase
2 Jesus Romo (San Francisco), 9:05.79
4 Adam Smith (San Francisco), 9:29.89
7 Will Marquardt (San Francisco), 9:46.87
Men's 5,000
16 Steven Garboden (San Francisco), 15:09.98
Men's 10,000
2 Jose Madera (San Francisco), 30:57.16
4 Jeremy Grace (San Francisco), 31:01.72
Men's 4X400 Relay
1 San Francisco 'A' 3:27.53 (1) Gustavo Mena 2) Colin Hopkins
3) Devin Hopkins 4) Derek DeSantiago
