HTML RESULTS
SEATTLE - Maggie Jones and Colin O'Neil broke the Gonzaga women's and men's track 5,000-meter indoor records on the first day of the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor Friday.
The top three women's 5,000 times in program history happened Friday. Jones raced to a 16:45.78. Her time easily broke the previous program record, 17:15.33, set by Emily Thomas in 2013. Jones placed eighth in her heat, and 28th out of 94 runners.
Shelby Mills placed third in the third section with a time of 16:51.25, the second best in program history. She finished 34th overall. Jessica Mildes ran the third fastest time in program history, following closely behind Jones in the second section. Mildes crossed the line at 17:00.66. She placed 15th in her heat and 43rd in the event. Amelia Evans placed 63rd at 17:24.53.
"We had a good evening at the Dempsey tonight," GU women's head coach Patty Ley said. "It was a little crazy before the races as traffic played havoc with timing. It left our ladies scrambling a bit. But, once they took a deep breath and settled into racing the crowd was hearing the Gonzaga name often. Both Maggie and Jess hung near the front, with Jess slipping back at two miles. Maggie continued to run well relaxed just off the leader's shoulder taking the lead with three laps to go. It was probably just a bit early as she slipped back over the last 400, but still plenty to run a new school record.
"In the next heat, Amelia and Shelby mimicked the tactics with similar results, Amelia too slipped back just before two miles. Shelby remained in the front pack and continued to move past gaps and fighting at the end. The ladies managed an unusual situation well, and this was a great way to end the indoor season and set them up nicely for outdoor."
In the men's 5,000 meters, O'Neil broke his own school record with a time of 14:23.56. He placed 10th in his heat and 44th overall in the 83-runner field. The senior ran a 14:28.21 at the same meet last year.
Kyle Branch placed 64th with a time of 14:43.42, while Nick Roche had a time of 14:50.59 and finished 68th.
"The ladies set a nice standard for the men to follow," Director of Gonzaga's track program Pat Tyson said. "In Heat 3, Colin mixed it up in a very competitive heat. It was a solid race for him. In Heat 4, Kyle and Nick competed near the front of the pack, but then faded a bit.
"We have another day tomorrow and we're looking forward to three in the 3k, starting with Robert Walgren and Conor McCandless in the morning session, followed later in the day by Troy Fraley. Then, we have Andy Phillips and Willie Milam in the afternoon heats of the mile."
The two-day Husky Classic continues Saturday. Walgren and McCandless open the day for the Bulldogs at 9:30 a.m. Live video and results will be available on GoZags.com.
