Announcement | Pexels by Markus Winkler
Announcement | Pexels by Markus Winkler
TUCSON, Ariz. – In just the second week of the outdoor season, the Fort Lewis College men's and women's track teams took major strides forward, establishing an onslaught of personal bests at the Willie Williams Classic en route to notable finishes in the loaded field.
Men's Results
The men's team was guided by four athletes who established personal bests, including junior Conner Dosmann's fourth-place finish at 3:54.31. Dosmann's time stands as the second-fastest 1500m time in program history and the fastest non-converted time in history. Junior Aaron Busche turned in an impressive time as well, crossing the line in 10th place with the third-fastest time in program history at 3:57.92.
"Conner ran a fantastic 1500 race and at 300 took the lead over a field of mostly D1 athletes and ended up 4th," said head coach Shawn Jakubowski. "In the next heat, Aaron made the same move at 300 and ran away from his heat and ended up 10th overall in the meet.
Freshman Bean Minor backed up his impressive week one result in the 5k race, running for a sixth-place finish at 14:42.56. His time now stands as the fastest in program history in both the converted and non-converted standards. Following Minor was freshman Elijah Smith (8th, 14:52.51) and senior Max Robinson (9th, 14:53.57) who now rank third and fourth on the all-time 5k list. Rounding out performers in the 5k was Trejo, Graul, Bartlett, Begay, and Parker who all ran for a personal best.
"In the men's 5k we had yet another stellar showing placing three in the top 10. Bean laid down the fasted raw time run by an FLC runner and was followed closely by Eli. This was Eli's first 5k on a track and he ran like a true, experienced 5k runner," acknowledged Jakubowski.
"The men showed up to this meet ready to turn some heads. In several races, these guys put themselves in positions to win or set PRs. The goal at these larger D1 meets is to lay down fast times and the team did exactly that. I'm very proud of these men and the strides they have taken, the future is very bright for this program."
1500m
- 4th Conner Dosmann JR 3:54.31
- 10th Aaron Busche JR 3:57.92
- 16th Brady Burrough SO 4:00.94
- 32nd Javier Victorino SR 4:15.13
- 6th Bean Minor FR 14:42.56
- 8th Elijah Smith FR 14:52.51
- 9th Max Robinson SR 14:53.57
- 17th Ricardo Trejo SR 15:16.22
- 21st Preston Graul SO 15:31.20
- 22nd Ethan Bartlett JR 15:32.77
- 33rd Wacey Begay JR 16:20.42
- 35th Robert Parker FR 16:22.71
- 12th Aaron Busche JR 1:55.38
- 23rd Brady Burrough SO 1:59.63
- 30th Malakai Hanson FR 2:02.18
- 36th Javier Victorino SR 2:05.20
- 42nd Blaine Goklish FR 2:11.58
Much like the men's outing, the women's team crushed personal bests and climbed the ranks in both program history and in the NCAA in just the second week of the season. Junior Katie Fankhouser continued her dominance, this time in the 800m and 1500m. Her fourth-place finish in the loaded field of 800m athletes at 2:12.24 stands as the second-best time in program history and ranks 12th in NCAA DII. To make things even sweeter, the Lyons native now ranks sixth in NCAA DII in the 1500m after a 6th place finish at 4:32.83.
The Skyhawks had four athletes competing in the 3000m Steeplechase, and each picked up top-10 marks en route to personal bests. Senior Carmella Wright led the charge with a second-place finish at 11:39.64.
"The steeplers got the momentum rolling early running fantastic in our first events on the track and the other women just keep that momentum rolling in the other events. They were feeding off each other's energy all night long," said Jakubowski.
The Skyhawks saw major success in the 5k race, paced by junior Brandy Ray who finished sixth at 17:50.47. She missed the school record by less than one second while PR-ing by over one minute. Beck, Gaughan, Ramirez, and Johnson rounded out the Skyhawks' pack in the 5k with a slew of personal bests.
"Brandy is on a completely different level this year and her confidence is soaring. For her to lay down a 17:50 coming off a 10k last weekend is very impressive and shows how strong she is. The 5k is becoming a very strong event for us," said Jakubowski.
The 1500m was led by Fankouser's sixth-place effort, but senior Angel Curley backed her up with a huge personal best. Curley crossed the line in 19th place with a time of 4:46.17 to mark the second-fastest non-altitude runner in program history. The senior also had a successful outing in the 800m where she turned in a time of 2:20.78 to finish in 14th place.
"The ladies in the 1500/800 double ran tough. Katie's speed is starting to click, and it showed in the 800. Angel ran the best races I have seen her run since becoming the coach and I am so excited to see what she can do this season," expressed Jakubowski.
3000m Steeplechase
- 2nd Carmella Wright SR 11:39.64
- 6th Peyton Burnside SO 12:01.57
- 8th Taylor Murphy SR 12:13.41
- 9th Candence Corby FR 12:14.22
- 6th Katie Fankhouser JR 4:32.83
- 19th Angel Curley SR 4:46.17
- 30th Sophia Mena SO 5:05.23
- 31st Marisol Castilleja FR 5:05.70
- 34th Claire Peterson FR 5:07.13
- 35th Skylar Charlie FR 5:07.60
- 37th Mikenna Hoffman FR 5:10.63
- 38th Jaden Knight JR 5:12.14
- 6th Brandy Ray JR 17:50.47
- 10th Esther Beck SR 18:28.23
- 11th Katherine Gaughan JR 18:38.78
- 14th Jessica Ramirez SR 18:51.96
- 20th Madisen Johnson JR 20:10.20
- 4th Katie Fankhouser JR 2:12.74
- 14th Angel Curley SR 2:20.78
- 20th Sophia Mena SO 2:26.32
- 25th Claire Peterson FR 2:28.49
- 26th Marisol Castilleja FR 2:28.96
- 27th Jaden Knight JR 2:30.09
- 34th Celine Nez SO 2:36.77
Original source can be found here.
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