SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Saturday afternoon in San Luis Obispo was history-making for Saint Mary's Track. They sent their largest group of student-athletes (over 40) to the Cal Poly Invitational, and they delivered in a big way. A few Gaels posted some massive personal records, and one Gael set a meet record with her time in the 1500m to highlight the Gaels performance on Saturday as they prepare for a busy month of April.
 
MEET RECORD HEADLINES THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Rayna Stanziano added to her list of accolades when she ran the 1500m in the fastest time ever recorded at the Cal Poly Invitational. Her mark of 4:23.69 was three-tenths of a second faster than the previous meet record, set by Jenna Hinkle in 2019, and was three seconds faster than the time she posted when she won at least year's Cal Poly Invitational. The next closest pace behind her was JJ Escalera of Santa Clara, who was nearly six seconds slower. That is her second-fastest ever time in the 1500m, and she now owns the four fastest 1500m times in SMC history.
 
Stanziano wasn't the only female Gael who turned heads with some fast times. Sylvia Ingram set a near 40-second personal record in the 5000m with her winning time of 17:30.85. That mark was the best in the field and it paced six other Gaels who ran the race for the first time this season. Alyssa Escay and Sofia Cueves set personal records as well with third place and seventh place finishes, respectively. Molly Dreher finished fifth in the 1500m that was won by Stanziano, but her time of 4:33.30 was an impressive personal best.
 
WINNING DOESN'T STOP THERE
Saint Mary's saw even more wins on the men's side, where Chandler Maciel was the leading Gael in an impressive showing in the 5000m. He led the way with a winning time of 14:37.82, and two of his teammates finished directly behind him in second and third. Sebastian Andersson and Muhammed Ahmed were the next two to finish, with times of 14:55.97 (Andersson) and 14:56.87 (Ahmed), the first time in their careers that they finished the 5000m in less than 15-minutes. In the 1500m, Derek D'Amelia won his heat with a time of 4:05.09 for yet another SMC win on the day. His time was similar to that of Blaine Reynolds, who was in a different heat, but led the Gaels with his 4:00.56.
 
KINSEY QUOTES
"Today was a big day for our program. We took the most student-athletes we have ever had to a race, and they all represented our program and the college well with how they competed. This invitational is one of the best we see on a yearly basis, and it posts some of the fastest times, so to see the Gaels winning heats and winning races is huge. I am extremely proud of the effort we turned in today." – Marty Kinsey
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will split their squad up next weekend as they head to two separate invites in the Bay Area. On April 1 and 2, most of the Gaels will be at both the Mike Fanelli Classic, hosted by San Francisco State, and a few will be at the Stanford Invitational. Those meets will mark the beginning of the final month of the regular season for SMC, as they look to continue building serious momentum and perhaps land a few qualifiers in advance of the NCAA West Prelims.