LA VERNE, AZUSA, and WALNUT, Calif. — Caren Kipsirat set a new school record in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase to headline a strong weekend from the Wolverine distance runners as Utah Valley competed at the ULV Leopard Invitational, Bryan Clay Invite, and Mt. SAC Relays.
Kipsirat eclipsed Oakley Olsen's previous record by three seconds with a time of 10:15.28 to take sixth overall at the Bryan Clay Invite. Kipsirat's time ranks among the top 40 nationally and leads the WAC by over 30 seconds. Fellow steepler Kaitelyn Emmons posted a new PR at 10:42.04 to move up a spot to eighth all-time.
The 5000-meter saw three top-three marks on Friday night. Morgan Nokes made her season debut in the event and immediately posted the top time in the WAC this season at 15:31.20. On the men's side, Sila Kiplagat and Jayden Fitzgarrald both improved on their season bests, with Kiplagat shaving about 17 seconds off his PR at the Utah Tech Invitational at 13:49.23 and Fitzgarrald improving by about 20 seconds at 13:54.22. Kiplagat and Fitzgarrald now own the second- and third-best times in UVU history.
Reagan Doman made her Wolverine debut in the 10k on Thursday night, posting the fifth-best time in program history at 33:24.35 and the second-best time in the WAC this year behind only Nokes.
A pair of throwers posted new PR's, with Grace Degarimore inching her way closer to the shot put record at 15.78m — improving by over a meter from her previous best of 14.71m. Degarimore is now 0.38m away from breaking Utah Valley's longest-standing record in any event, set by former Swedish national champion Helena Engman in 1999. In the discus, Cale Stinebaugh also saw a big jump in her PR, adding another meter to improve from 44.97m to 46.06m.
Jennaveve Bingham headlined the efforts from the Wolverines' middle distance runners, hitting a new PR of 2:08.06 in the 800-meter to move from fifth to third all-time.
The final event of the weekend saw Utah Valley's men's 4x100 squad post a new season best of 39.54, the sixth-best all-time and among the top 40 in the nation so far this campaign.
Utah Valley will have next week off as a team before wrapping up the regular season at the Robison Invitational in Provo and the SUU Coliseum Championships.
