Day One Concludes at Mt. SAC Relays

Friday, April 15

Walnut, Calif.

All Day

Texas Tech Athletics

Mt. SAC Relays

Competition in the field events will begin Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

April 16, 2005 | Track and Field

Walnut, Calif. - Day one of competition has concluded at the 47th annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. The Red Raider distance squad posted three regional qualifying marks, one national qualifying mark and six personal bests in their events today.

Kevin Chelimo took first-place in the evening session of the 5000M with a 13:54.90. Chelimo moved into third place at the 3:23 mark, ran to second place at the five-minute mark and took over the lead at the ten-minute mark. Chelimo's time marked his third qualifying mark of the season, first in the 5000M. Haron Lagat competed in the same event, clocking a time of 14:18.78, narrowly missing the regional mark of 14:15.75, and marking a 20th-place finish

Also in the 5000M, Irene Kimaiyo broke away after starting at the back of the pack to finish in the lead with a regional qualifying time of 16:47.01, a personal best. Stefanie Calhoun also battled her way to the front as she finished in sixth-place with a personal best time of 17:20.94. Both Kimaiyo and Calhoun bettered their personal best times by almost 60 seconds. For the men, Benson Cheserek clocked a career-best time of 14:47.37 in the afternoon session of the 5000M, good for a ninth-place finish.

In the 1500M, Brionne Yosten finished 11th in her heat and 18th overall with her regional qualifying time of 4:25.22.

Kyle Atwood competed in the 1500M. Atwood ran a time of 3:51.11, finishing third in his heat and 11th overall.

Bridget Tidwell finished the evening 5000M with a time of 17:19.00, good for a 26th-place finish.

Violet Chemakwila ran in her first 10000M as a Red Raider. Chemakwila clocked a time of 34:05.85, good for a 13th-place finish and an automatic qualifying mark for the national meet.

Competition will resume on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with the collegiate field events. For complete results of Texas Tech track and field visit, www.texastech.com or http://vm.mtsac.edu/relays/.