LEWISBURG, Pa. - The American University track team opened its 2021-22 indoor schedule on Saturday with an exciting early-season showing at Bucknell's Bison Opener. The day was highlighted by six new program all-time top-10 marks, six new personal records (PR), and a pair of individual event wins from juniors
Nia Holden and
Nathan Reeves in their first indoor meet since their freshman season.
HEAR FROM COACH GRAHAM...
"We had a good kick-off to the season today at the Bison Opener. On the women's side,
Alisha Netus and
Nia Holden were the standout performers along with the women's 4x400m relay. Alisha nabbed a pair of No. 2 all-time marks in the 60m and 200m while Nia also picked up a No. 2 spot in a perfectly executed win in the 500. On the men's side,
Khalil Mer notched two all-time top ten marks with the ninth-fastest 60m and seventh-fastest 200, while Nate Reeves and
Tucker Zullo went 1-2 in a tactical mile race.
"For the vast majority of the team, this was a very early season meet, and early in their training cycle. We now just have over a month of solid training to prepare for the true indoor season. We're looking forward to the athletes putting in a lot of work during that time and coming back ready for bigger and better racing in the New Year."
#AUTF NOTES
- Holden had a dominant performance in the women's 500m run, gapping the field by over two seconds with a new PR of 1:18.30. The performance moved her up to No. 2 all-time in AU history behind Brianna Belo's record of 1:12.63 from 2017.
- Fifth-year Alisha Netus also picked up a pair of new program top-10 marks, including improving on her 60m dash PR with a final time of 8.01. Netus already owned the second-fastest time in program history for the event with her previous best (8.04), she now sits only 0.05-seconds off from Kinnari Badger's record (7.96) from 2015.
- Netus also moved into the No. 2 spot in the program list for the 200m dash, trimming off an impressive 0.49-seconds with her 26.47 finish.
- Holden added a second top-10 time with the women's 4x400m relay alongside senior Elise Hooker, sophomore Callia Cordasco, and freshman Lucia Ianello. The squad slid into No. 3 in AU history with their final time of 4:14.20.
- On the men's side, sophomore Khalil Mer highlighted the day with a pair of top-10 marks in his AU debut. He nudged into the top-10 list for the 60m dash with a 7.40 finish for 9th all-time, and hit the seventh-fastest 200m dash time in AU history in 23.46.
- The Eagles also dominated the men's mile, including a 1-2 finish from Reeves and junior Tucker Zullo. Reeves hit a new PR with a 4:22.53 finish along with classmate Russell Sullivan, who crossed in fifth overall with a final time of 4:32.57.
#AUTF RESULTS
| EVENT |
RESULTS |
| 60m Dash, Women |
10. Alisha Netus, 8.01 PR #2 |
| 60m Dash, Men |
21. Khalil Mer, 7.40 #9 |
| 200m Dash, Women |
5. Alisha Netus, 26.47 PR #2 |
| 200m Dash, Men |
10. Khalil Mer, 23.46 #7 | 18. Malcolm Going, 24.15 PR |
| 400m Dash, Women |
19. Erika Linke, 1:11.27 |
| 400m Dash, Men |
9. Brian Gutro, 55.49 | 11. Tyler White, 58.51 |
| 500m Run, Women |
1. Nia Holden, 1:18.30 PR #2 |
| 800m Run, Men |
4. Jackson McCarthy, 1:57.86 |
| Mile Run, Men |
1. Nathan Reeves, 4:22.53 PR | 2. Tucker Zullo, 4:24.81 | 4. Oscar Counsell, 4:28.50 | 5. Russell Sullivan, 4:32.57 PR | 7. Alex Murphy, 4:36.98 | 8. Ethan Puc, 4:41.49 | 9. Michael Dua, 4:43.09 | 12. Foster Boone, 4:55.01 |
| 3000m Run, Men |
9. Danny O'Neill, 9:49.21 |
| 4x400m Relay, Women |
6. "A" (Holden, Hooker, Ianello, Cordasco), 4:14.20 #3 | 13. "B" (Daniele, Gibson, Miskimins, Porter), 4:39.68 | 14. "C" (Abielmona, Anderson, Raymond, Tianga), 4:52.98 |
American now enters a month-long training block before opening 2021 on January 8 at the Father Diamond Invitational, hosted by George Mason.
For the latest on American University Track, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_TrackXC) and Instagram (@AU_TrackXC).
