Track and Field | 4/1/2017 8:30:00 PM

The weekend proved to be one of the most successful ever on the track for the San Francisco Dons, with four school records falling and a plethora of performances that should stand as NCAA regional qualifying marks as the season progresses.

At the Stanford Invitational, the Dons put together memorable performance after memorable performance under the Friday night lights of Cobb Track and Angell Field.

"The group that we had here just ran up to their ability and they competed really, really well in a high-level field," reflected USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters after the meet. "They didn't run out of their minds, to be honest, they just ran up to their ability so that's what we're most happy about.

"There's a lot of room to grow in the next two months of the season, and that's the thing that we're most excited about. We really just came in here to get better from where we were a couple weeks ago and get some good marks on the board."

Those 'good marks' were indeed great marks, as the first USF record to fall came from the speed of Hugh Nicklason. The sophomore from Hobart, Australia, raced to fourth in his heat of the 1,500 meters, clocking in with a time of 3:43.70 to improve on his own school best.

Distance runner Weronika Pyzik, a sophomore from Bilgoraj, Poland, was the next to race into the Dons' record books, running the first sub-16 minute 5,000 meters in school history. She rounded the track in 15:59.00 to finish third in her section, and unseat All-American Jana Soethout's record from 2014.

Charlotte Taylor's 10,000 meter record proved to be the most eye-popping race of the night, as she completed the distance in 32:11.80 to turn in one of the collegiate fastest times ever, much less for a Don. Taylor, a senior from Spaulding, England, finished fourth in the speedy heat, and crossed the finish line well within the World Championship and Olympic qualifying standard of 32:15.

"Charlotte was phenomenal," remarked Lehman-Winters. "What's most impressive is that she ran 32:11 pretty much solo. She did a lot of work for that pack in the early stages of the race and once she broke away from them she was running solo the whole way and chiseling down the pace. She felt great, she looked great, she negative split the race. There was a lot of room to run faster as well which is exciting."

The fourth record time achieved on the weekend came from Alex Short, who completed his 10,000 m race in 28:46.83. Short, a senior from Bicknacre, England took 15th in the hotly contested heat won by professional athlete Abbibiya Simbassa in 28:03.83.

Not to be overshadowed by the record-setting performances on the night, a personal best 1,500 meter time of 4:17.76 was recorded by Elena Burkard, Isabelle Brauer shaved nearly two minutes off her previous 10K personal best, and Ryan Driscoll's 3,000 meter steeplechase mark of 8:56.99 included a fall in the first water jump of the race.
  Along with the stellar performances at Stanford, the Dons turned in a solid weekend at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival as well with a handful of personal bests now in the books.

Emma Stahr earned seventh in her section of the 1,500 m, and finished 10th overall in the field of 149 after clocking in at 4:31.79. Tatjana Schulte's fifth place finish in the 5K was also a highlight on the day at Cox Stadium. One of the other bright spots of the distance carnival was Mohamed Aziz' 3,000 m steeplechase where he finished sixth out of the field of 74 competitors with a time of 8:57.77.

"I'm so happy with how Mo ran in the steeple," said Lehman-Winters. "He's been a kid who has demonstrated that he's very capable of running to the level that he did today but he's never done it. For him to put it together and race from start to finish and work through the entire race, and then to walk away with 8:57 should be good enough to get him to the first round of nationals, and we're really happy with that."

All told, Lehman-Winters estimates the Dons have nine athletes already poised to earn a spot in the NCAA West Regional Championships with nearly two months to go in the regular season. USF athletes have two weeks before their next round of competitions, where the Dons are expected to be in the fields at the Mt. SAC Relays, Bryan Clay Invitational and Woody Wilson Classic the weekend of April 13-15.
 
Stanford Invitational:
Friday –
1,500 m (M) [Heat 2]
4. Hugh Nicklason – 3:43.70 (USF record)
1,500 m (W) [Heat 2]  
5. Elena Burkard – 4:17.76 (PR)
11. Marie Bouchard – 4:24.50
3000 m SC (M) [Heat 3]
4. Ryan Driscoll – 8:56.99
5,000 m (W) [Heat 2]
3. Weronika Pyzik – 15:59.00 (USF record)
10,000 m (M) [Heat 1]
15. Alex Short – 28:46.83 (USF record)
10,000 m (W) [Heat 1]
4. Charlotte Taylor – 32:11.80 (USF record)
10,000 m (W) [Heat 2]
2. Isabelle Brauer – 33:44.11 (PR)
                                                                
SF State Distance Carnival:
Friday –
1,500 m (W)
10. Emma Stahr – 4:31.79
3,000 m SC (M)
6. Mohamed Aziz – 8:57.77 (PR)
3,000 m SC (W)
28. Magdalena Dias – 11:11.83
5,000 m (M)
38. Ben Alcock – 14:27.15
5,000 m (W)  
5. Tatjana Schulte – 16:38.43
12. Kelsey Nielsen – 16:48.48 (PR)
56. Daryl Phill – 17:24.46
10,000 m (M)
35. Caleb McClain – 31:03.73
 
Saturday –
400 m (M)
19. Chase Midyett – 52.21 (PR)
33. Mario Valenzuela – 55.92
400 m (W)
7. Asaundra Dalton – 57.49
16. Skylar Fenton – 59.59 (PR)
20. Amy Glaser – 60.49 (PR)
800 m (M)
6. Hugh Nicklason – 1:51.74
37. Cristian Monsalud – 1:55.44
800 m (W)
7. Emma Stahr – 2:10.15 (PR)
Javelin (M)
1. Katoa Ahau – 54.44 m
Javelin (W)
15. Alia Mahuna – 30.92 m