SEATTLE – For the final time this Spring, Saint Mary's Men's Track competed under a roof, taking part in the Husky Classic, their final indoor competition this season. 12 different Gaels competed in four events, with every individual runner setting a new collegiate PR in their respective events.
The festivities began on Friday evening, with grad student Jonathan Velasco not only shattering his own 5000m PR by over 52 seconds, but also setting a new school record at 14:04.69. The previous record had stood for nearly four years, and was owned by Nolan Dozier at 14:07.1. Velasco finished ninth overall in the field of 34 total runners.
Five different Gaels (Alexandro Alvarez, Jason Habash, Curtis Volf, Ethan Gray and Anthony Erickson) all ran the mile for either their first times collegiately or for a new PR time. Alvarez paced the Gaels at 4:08.75, with Habash and Volf not far behind at 4:12.85 and 4:13.86 respectively. Alvarez shaved a little under eight seconds off of his PR set a month ago at the UW Preview, while Habash bested his by a little over six and Volf by a little over two ticks.
Freshmen Daniel Martinez and Aidan Doherty both ran their first collegiate 800m races, finishing at 1:56.89 and 2:01.45 respectively. Both of these first year Gaels competed in all three SMC spring indoor events, as they continue to add races to their collegiate resumes.
Rounding out the group was the Gaels 4x400m team of Gus Hollistr, Zach Zlobinsky, Jacob Bravo and Moss Michelsen. The quartet placed fifth with a time of 3:37.52.
With the indoor season complete, the Gaels will now shift their focus to outdoor season, starting March 8 at the Cal Season Opener.
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