SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Breaking away from the traditional weekend pattern of events, Saint Mary's Track sent a small group of runners to Cal Poly to compete in their Spring Break Challenge. The Gaels only competed in the 1500m on both the men's and women's side, but their times were blazing fast, including seven personal bests, two heat wins, and one new school record.
 
The Gaels were all over the top of the pack in the 1500m on both sides, but as usual, Rayna Stanziano stole the show. She was one of the seven Gaels to put up a personal best in the 1500m, and she was one of the two who won their respective heat. But her time was a notch better than all others on Wednesday afternoon, as her time of 4:26.66 stands as the new Saint Mary's record in the 1500m. This comes after Stanziano did not compete last week at Fresno Pacific, but she makes it a perfect 2-2 in finishing first overall in the 1500m at competitions this spring.
 
Molly Dreher was the other Gael to win her heat on the women's side, finishing quicker than the other women in the first heat. Dreher placed tenth overall with a time of 4:47.43, a time that shaves off about three seconds from her personal best that she set at the Spring Break Invitational on the 13^th. Two other Gaels on the women's side ran in the second section along with Stanziano: Abigayle Mitchell came in fourth place overall with a mark of 4:34.19, while Hannah Wohlenberg finished just behind her at 4:35.08, good for fifth place. Both times are personal bests, giving all four women who ran their top marks at the collegiate level.
 
Three of the Gaels competing on the men's side were able to rack up personal bests as well, led by front-man Nolan Dozier. After a strong showing just days ago at Fresno Pacific, Dozier was in front again on the men's side with a sixth-place finish overall in the 1500m. His time was about two seconds faster than his previous PR that came back in March of 2019 at Cal, and was better than six seconds ahead of the pace from his most recent 1500m time last weekend. Chandler Maciel took home a PR with a mark of 3:58.96 that gave him a 17^th place finish overall, and a fifth-place finish in his heat, while Thomas Osborne also hit a personal best with a time of 4:05.80, finishing just behind his teammate Tommy Bell who came in third place in the first heat.
 
"We are grateful to be included in this very fun race at Cal Poly," head coach Marty Kinsey said following the events. "The men and women continue improving and ran some great races today."
 
The Gaels will next compete at the Azusa Pacific Distance Carnival on Saturday, April 3 down in Azusa. This marks the beginning of two-consecutive meets hosted by APU, with the Bryan Clay Invite set to take place on April 17.