Thursday, March 28
Emporia, Kan.
10:00 AM
Creighton University
at
Emporia State Relays
Jake Ziebarth
Photo by: Jay Slagle
Promising Start As Track Opens Outdoor Season at Emporia State Relays
3/29/2024 1:45:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
Jake Ziebarth sets program record in the 1,500
EMPORIA, Kan. – The Creighton track team opened up its outdoor season at Emporia State Relays on Thursday, establishing 11 Top 10 marks in school history to go along with a school record.
Coming off a strong indoor season in which he broke two school records, Jake Ziebarth wasted no time in his outdoor season debut. Ziebarth was the overall winner in the men's 1500 in 3:49.64, which broke his own school record and set a meet record.
"What a way to start the season," said assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Matthew Fayers. "Our group is coming off a solid training block and it was great to see them showcase that fitness. We had multiple people set outdoor bests, which is a great place to be for March. Jake breaking a school record was awesome to watch and I'm excited to see his progress over the next few weeks, breaking a meet record along the way highlights what our team is now capable of."
In addition to Ziebarth's win, the Bluejays had multiple top-three finishes on the day. Morgan Koca led the way with a runner-up finish in the women's 5k, and Katherine Soule finished third and recorded the ninth-fastest time in school history. On the men's side, Marcos Gonzalez finished third in the 5k. Freshman Ryan Hendrickson took third place in the 800 meters with a time that ranks third overall in program history. Fellow freshmen Tommy Murray ran the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 1500 meters, while Saige Christen and Jessica Barich ran times that placed them in the fourth and fifth-best all-time spots for the women's 800 meters.
Head coach Chris Gannon was also impressed with the meet as a whole. "Pretty solid opener for the team, especially coming off of big training blocks that should set us up well for the late season when fast times really matter. Obviously, a school and meet record for Jake are pretty impressive. We had a lot of PRs on the day and will continue to work towards what's ahead. Next week we head up to South Dakota to get another meet under our belt and then are looking to run some fast times the following week at Wichita State and Bryan Clay."
The Bluejays are back in action next week, as they head to South Dakota for the USD Early Bird meet on Friday.
Coming off a strong indoor season in which he broke two school records, Jake Ziebarth wasted no time in his outdoor season debut. Ziebarth was the overall winner in the men's 1500 in 3:49.64, which broke his own school record and set a meet record.
"What a way to start the season," said assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Matthew Fayers. "Our group is coming off a solid training block and it was great to see them showcase that fitness. We had multiple people set outdoor bests, which is a great place to be for March. Jake breaking a school record was awesome to watch and I'm excited to see his progress over the next few weeks, breaking a meet record along the way highlights what our team is now capable of."
In addition to Ziebarth's win, the Bluejays had multiple top-three finishes on the day. Morgan Koca led the way with a runner-up finish in the women's 5k, and Katherine Soule finished third and recorded the ninth-fastest time in school history. On the men's side, Marcos Gonzalez finished third in the 5k. Freshman Ryan Hendrickson took third place in the 800 meters with a time that ranks third overall in program history. Fellow freshmen Tommy Murray ran the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 1500 meters, while Saige Christen and Jessica Barich ran times that placed them in the fourth and fifth-best all-time spots for the women's 800 meters.
Head coach Chris Gannon was also impressed with the meet as a whole. "Pretty solid opener for the team, especially coming off of big training blocks that should set us up well for the late season when fast times really matter. Obviously, a school and meet record for Jake are pretty impressive. We had a lot of PRs on the day and will continue to work towards what's ahead. Next week we head up to South Dakota to get another meet under our belt and then are looking to run some fast times the following week at Wichita State and Bryan Clay."
The Bluejays are back in action next week, as they head to South Dakota for the USD Early Bird meet on Friday.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
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