Two Victories and a School-Record Highlight Track at USD Early Bird

VERMILLION, S.D. -- Victories by Marcos Gonzalez in the steeplechase and Taylor Rorick in the 10,000 meters, as well as school-record performances by three women in the 800, led the Creighton Track teams at the USD Early Bird in Vermillion, S.D., on Friday and Saturday.

"Really good season opener," said CU head coach Chris Gannon. "A slew of PRs, a school record and a handful of all-time marks definitely generates some excitement for the outdoor season."

Gonzalez won his first 3,000 meter steeplechase competition of the spring in a time of 9:25.26, seven seconds better than his time at the same meet last spring, and two seconds ahead of runner-up Carson Lauterbach of host South Dakota.

Rorick's victory came in her first outdoor 10,000 meter race this spring, as the sophomore crossed the finish line in 37:38.20. Teammate Molly Rogers was third in the same race in 39:27.81.

Ryan Hendrickson took fourth in Friday's 800-meter race, clocking in at 1:51.89, just ahead of teammates Evan Kraus (1:52.08) and Jake Ziebarth (1:52.78). Hendrickson and Kraus' times have only been surpassed by Tommy Ward, CU's first outdoor Regional qualifier in 2023, and the best marks ever for CU's initial race of the outdoor season.

Other highlights from the CU men included sophomore Logan Piper's sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles (56.52), junior Henry Slagle taking seventh in the 5,000 meters (15:04.40) and junior Jack Sorensen placing ninth in the 10K race (33:14.26).

"It was great to be back competing after a successful indoor season," said assistant coach Matthew Fayers. "Our 800 crew kept that momentum going and wasted no time setting some fast times to open the outdoor season! On the women's side our ladies set the #1, 2, 3 and 10 times in school history for the 800 meters, on the men's side they ran the #2, 3 and 5 times. Those top four guys are fit and I'm excited to see what they can accomplish these next few weeks!"

CU took fourth, fifth and sixth in the women's 800, a trio that included Anika Nettekoven (2:14.71), Carly Manchester (2:15.01) and Katie Roche (2:15.81). All three marks were better than Manchester's previous school-record of 2:16.4.

Junior Katherine Soule was runner-up in the women's 5K in a time of 17:36.03, just two seconds off the lead, and Natalee Gehred finished in eighth place with a time of 26.64 in the 200.

"Both 800 squads ran very well, including a school record by Anika and #2 all-time for Ryan Hendrickson," added Gannon. "Marcos won the steeple, Taylor won the 10k and Katherine was the first collegiate finisher in the 5k. We have work to do and will keep progressing towards our goals for later in the season."

CU is back on the track next Friday when it visits Des Moines, Iowa, for the Jim Duncan Invitational.

Two Victories and a School-Record Highlight Track at USD Early Bird

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Players Mentioned

Natalee Gehred

Marcos Gonzalez

Ryan Hendrickson

Evan Kraus

Carly Manchester

Anika Nettekoven

Logan Piper

Katie Roche

Molly Rogers

Taylor Rorick

Henry Slagle

Jack Sorensen

Katherine Soule

Tommy Ward

Jake Ziebarth