SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga track concluded another impressive weekend inside The Podium, as the women broke three new records along with a new Podium record in the mile at the Riverfront Invite.
Rosina Machu,
Willow Collins, and
Alicia Anderson each topped the previous venue record, becoming the three new top times since it opened in December of 2021. In addition, the Zags set new program-best times for the women's 200m, women's 800m and 4x400m relay.
GU kicked off the Riverfront Invite Friday as the women broke two new records.
Ellie Armbruster improved her week-old 800m record and
Giana Riley made her track debut with a 200m record just minutes later, marking the eighth different event record set just this season by Zag women.
Armbruster's 2:09.88 placed her second in the event, while
Emma Larson (2:19.86) and
Ashlinn Aguayo (2:24.71) each earned PRs by nearly six seconds.
In the men's 800m,
Carp Mukai made an impressive improvement to his indoor PR with a 1:53.92 finish, a time that's now second-best in program history. Five Zags made their indoor 800m debuts, and
Caleb Richardson notched a PR to complete the men's seven-for-seven PR effort.
The women's 200m took to the track next, as
Giana Riley was set to make her GU track debut. The sophomore ran a new program record 25.86 in the 11th of 23 heats.
Kendall York (Sixth, 18:22.23) and Charlie Martinez (Ninth, 15:22.64) each earned top ten finishes in the women's and men's 5000m, respectively. The Zag men wrapped up day in the distance medley relay, their first appearance in the event since the 2021-22 season. Mukai,
Tommy O'Neil,
Logan Law, and
Samy Anderson (10:18.49) placed second, while
Ansel Tucker, Richardson,
Nick Braz, and
Will Thorsett (10:27.23) placed fourth.
On Saturday, it was the women's mile that headlined the Bulldogs' day with 22 runners set to compete over eight heats in the event. In the final heat, it was Machu (4:44.05), Collins (PR, 4:44.11), and Anderson (PR, 4:45.26) who stole the show and completed an impressive showing overall. Collins' time is now the second-fastest in program history, with Anderson's right behind at third-fastest. The Zags set 12 new PR times in the mile alone as
Anna Grabowski (4:50.56) and
Brittney Hansen's (4:50.75) PRs also made the program top ten list.
In the women's 400m,
Emma Larson (1:01.08),
Leighton Joy (1:02.37),
Ashlinn Aguayo (1:02.69), and
Karina Smith (1:04.08) eached earned PRs as Larson, Joy, and Aguayo's times entered the program top ten as well.
Just hours after setting the new Podium record mile time, Machu returned to the track and took a convincing 21-second victory in the women's 3000m race, a 9:38.08 winning time.
In one of the final races of the afternoon, the GU women set a record in the ninth different event of the season with a 3:59.83 finish in the 4x400m relay. Armbruster,
Alexis Knight,
Bailee Carr, and Larson teamed up to break four minutes for the first time in program history.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will split-squads once again Feb. 9-10 as they send runners to the Whitworth Invite at The Podium and Husky Classic at UW's Dempsey Indoor Facility. It will mark the final meet of the indoor regular season.
Wil Smith and Machu currently hold qualifying times to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and will find out on Feb. 25 if they will head back to Boston.
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Full results can be found
HERE
