Friday, January 17
Lincoln, NE
12:50 PM
Creighton University
at
Graduate Classic
Ryan Montera
Photo by: Jay Slagle
5K Wins Highlight First Indoor Track Meet of 2025
1/18/2025 9:05:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
Taylor Rorick and Ryan Montera take home 5,000 meter titles in Lincoln
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Colorado natives Taylor Rorick and Ryan Montera both won their 5,000 meter race to highlight the first Creighton track meet of the season on Friday and Saturday at the Graduate Classic in Lincoln. The Bluejay distance duo led the way in a meet that saw CU earn eight top-10 finishes.
The 5K was easily CU's best event across the two-day meet. Montera crossed finish line in a personal-best time of 14:40.02 to outrace a field of 11 competitors. That time was good for a school-record, 15 seconds than the mark he had previously held. Montera's classmate, senior Marcos Gonzalez, finished runner-up behind Montera with a time of 15:01.18. Placing fifth in the 5K was senior Jack Sorensen in 15:24.41, which was also good for a PR.
Rorick's victory came by 40 seconds as the Bluejay sophomore crossed the finish line in 17:40.91. The Castle Pines native's time was 42 seconds better than the previous program-best of 18:12.3 set by Adriana Kammerer, in addition to being a personal-best.
Head coach Chris Gannon was quick to identify some of the highlights. "We had some great performances, including indoor school records by Taylor and Ryan in the 5k. Katie, Carly, Evan and Brian all notched top-five marks in the 1k."
Carly Manchester opened her junior season with an eighth-place showing in the 1,000 meter race, clocking a personal-best time of 2:59.66 to take eighth. Katie Roche was 12th in the same race in 3:01.8 as the pair moved up to second and fourth on the all-time best list at Creighton.
Finishing ninth in the men's 3K race was senior Henry Slagle in a time of 8:39.21, which pleased Gannon. "Henry ran a PR and top 10 performance in the men's 3k, which was awesome to see. He's a guy who's been through a roller-coaster, and to see him back healthy and running well during his final semester, is awesome"
Junior Annika Nettekoven (2:19.04 in the 800) and Brian Hiltebrand (2:29.44 in the 1,000) each placed 10th in their respective races. Hiltebrand's effort was the second-best mark in program history, while teammate Evan Kraus' 2:31.2 moves him into fourth place.
"The indoor season opener is always a bit of an adventure," said Gannon. "It's not just the first meet of the season, some athletes are running the first indoor meet of their life and making their college track debut. It's a good glimpse of where we are and lets us know what we need to get to work on to be ready for the season ahead."
Creighton is back in action on Friday at the Prairie Wolf Invite in Lincoln.
"It's going to be a quick week, as we're back on the track on Friday with another opportunity to raise the bar," noted Gannon.
The 5K was easily CU's best event across the two-day meet. Montera crossed finish line in a personal-best time of 14:40.02 to outrace a field of 11 competitors. That time was good for a school-record, 15 seconds than the mark he had previously held. Montera's classmate, senior Marcos Gonzalez, finished runner-up behind Montera with a time of 15:01.18. Placing fifth in the 5K was senior Jack Sorensen in 15:24.41, which was also good for a PR.
Rorick's victory came by 40 seconds as the Bluejay sophomore crossed the finish line in 17:40.91. The Castle Pines native's time was 42 seconds better than the previous program-best of 18:12.3 set by Adriana Kammerer, in addition to being a personal-best.
Head coach Chris Gannon was quick to identify some of the highlights. "We had some great performances, including indoor school records by Taylor and Ryan in the 5k. Katie, Carly, Evan and Brian all notched top-five marks in the 1k."
Carly Manchester opened her junior season with an eighth-place showing in the 1,000 meter race, clocking a personal-best time of 2:59.66 to take eighth. Katie Roche was 12th in the same race in 3:01.8 as the pair moved up to second and fourth on the all-time best list at Creighton.
Finishing ninth in the men's 3K race was senior Henry Slagle in a time of 8:39.21, which pleased Gannon. "Henry ran a PR and top 10 performance in the men's 3k, which was awesome to see. He's a guy who's been through a roller-coaster, and to see him back healthy and running well during his final semester, is awesome"
Junior Annika Nettekoven (2:19.04 in the 800) and Brian Hiltebrand (2:29.44 in the 1,000) each placed 10th in their respective races. Hiltebrand's effort was the second-best mark in program history, while teammate Evan Kraus' 2:31.2 moves him into fourth place.
"The indoor season opener is always a bit of an adventure," said Gannon. "It's not just the first meet of the season, some athletes are running the first indoor meet of their life and making their college track debut. It's a good glimpse of where we are and lets us know what we need to get to work on to be ready for the season ahead."
Creighton is back in action on Friday at the Prairie Wolf Invite in Lincoln.
"It's going to be a quick week, as we're back on the track on Friday with another opportunity to raise the bar," noted Gannon.
Players Mentioned
/ Men'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
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
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