Kaden Kluth racing the 800 at the 2024 Indoor PL Championships
Jon Ratner

Track and Field

Kluth Runs AU's First Four-Minute Mile, Indoor Track Sets More Historic Times in Boston and Virginia

BOSTON / LYNCHBURG, Va. – More school records went down for the Eagles at the BU Valentine Invitational and Liberty Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational (Feb. 14-15). In Boston, junior Kaden Kluth ran a seven-second personal best of 4:00.60 in the mile to break a 23-year-old school record, placing 45th in a field of over 300 athletes. He's now ranked fifth in the Patriot League. Freshman Tamara Dorval opened up the meet at Liberty running 7.75 seconds in the prelims of the 60 meters, breaking her own school record of 7.76 that she set at the same facility last weekend (Feb. 7).

Valentine Invitational
  • Junior Carver Morgan and senior Danny O'Neill both ran personal bests in the mile, running 4:06.37 and 4:15.04, respectively. Morgan's performance moved him up to fourth AU all-time and ninth in the Patriot League.
  • All three athletes in the 3k ran personal bests. Cooper Michaud led the Eagles in a PR of 8:20.26. Freshman Noah Smith ran 8:21.53, improving his PR by eight seconds. Freshman Ty Parker ran a seven-second personal best of 8:23.29.
  • All three women's mid-distance runners ran personal bests in the 800 meters on Saturday. Junior Kate Riley took another two seconds off her PR from Liberty, running 2:15.00 to move up her fifth all-time mark. Senior Kirah Tianga moved up to sixth on AU's top-10 list with a PR of 2:17.31. Senior Lucia Ianello ran a personal best of 2:19.13 to move up her ninth all-time mark.
  • Freshman Zoe Rector ran a 10-second personal best in the 3,000 meters, running 10:20.50.

Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational
  • Dorval qualified for the semifinal in the 60 meters on Friday, where she ran 7.80 to place 22nd.
  • Lorelei Bangit tied her own school record in the 400 meters on Friday, placing third in the invite section with a time of 55.42. This performance puts her atop the Patriot League standings. She came back to place 15th in the 200 meters on Saturday with a time of 25.22.
  • Sophomore Toby Khang ran a personal best of 1:10.06 in the 500 meters to place 20th in the event.
  • The women's 4x400 squad of Bangit and freshmen Zoe Clark, Darcy Scheiner, and Lara Gin ran 3:56.27, ranking second AU all-time. It's the second time the women's 4x400 has broken four minutes this season.

Coaches' Corner
"We had a very exciting weekend of racing splitting the squad between two premier meets," said head coach Sean Graham. "Down at Liberty our sprinters continued their assault of the record books. Tamara Dorval, for the third week in a row, lowered her 60 meter school record down to 7.75. Lorelei Bangit continued to come into excellent form, tying her PR and indoor school record in the 400 and placing third in 55.42. The women then finished off the meet with a very strong 4x400 of 3:56.27 for the second fastest time ever in AU history.

"Up in Boston, it was a string of PRs, top-five times and a broken 23-year old school record. The men, racing Friday, had three athletes in the mile — Danny O'Neill, Carver Morgan, and Kaden Kluth — each coming away with PR's. Most notably Kaden and Carver took their first stab at the historic four-minute mile barrier — Carver notching the fourth best AU time in 4:06 and Kaden hitting it right on the nose in a tactical heat. Crossing the line in 4:00.60, for an eight-second PR and the fastest indoor mile by an AU athlete. Both he and Carver will have a few more chances to break that barrier this year.

"In the 3k later in the day, we also had three men competing: Cooper Michaud, Noah Smith, and Ty Parker. All three came away with significant PR's of 8:20, 8:21 and 8:23 respectively.  Upwards of 10 second PRs by freshmen Noah and Ty. 

"On Saturday, the women took the track with three PRs by Kate Riley, Luci Ianello, and Kirah Tianga in the 800. Kate Riley, taking nearly two seconds off her PR from last week, is now down to 2:15 and fifth all time. Kirah raced very well to 2:17 and Luci fought in a very tactical race for 2:19. Zoe Rector also had an aggressive race in the 3k with a collegiate PR of 10:20 in the event.

"All in all, we continued the pattern of aggressive racing all weekend long and came away with great results."

Next Up
The Eagles will return to Fairfax next Friday (Feb. 21) for the Father Diamond Invitational hosted by George Mason. The last time AU competed at George Mason, Dorval broke the school record in the 60 meters for the first time and the 4x400 relay squad of Bangit, Clark,  Ianello, and Gin broke the school record in the event by five seconds at the Patriot Games (Feb. 1).

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VALENTINE INVITATIONAL AU RESULTS
Mile, Men 45. Kaden Kluth, 4:00.60 (PR)*** | 121. Carver Morgan, 4:06.37 (PR)* | 246. Danny O'Neill, 4:15.04 (PR)
3000m, Men 175. Cooper Michaud, 8:20.26 (PR) | 179. Noah Smith, 8:21.53 (PR) | 187. Ty Parker, 8:23.29 (PR)
800m, Women 96. Kate Riley, 2:15.00 (PR)* | 115. Kirah Tianga, 2:17.31 (PR)* | 141. Lucia Ianello, 2:19.13 (PR)*
3000m, Women 240. Zoe Rector, 10:20.50 (PR)

DARIUS DIXON INVITATIONAL AU RESULTS
60m, Women (prelim) 23. Tamara Dorval, 7.75 (PR)*** | 56. Ciera Thacker, 8.08
(semifinal) 22. Tamara Dorval, 7.80
400m Open, Women 15. Lara Gin, 58.34 | 23. Zoe Clark, 59.08
400m Invite, Women 3. Lorelei Bangit, 55.42
200m, Men 50. Jason Omari-Anim, 23.35
200m, Women 15. Lorelei Bangit, 25.22 | 61. Zoe Clark, 26.37 | 62. Ciera Thacker, 26.38
500m, Men 20. Toby Khang, 1:10.06 (PR)
4x400 Relay, Women 13. Bangit, Clark, Scheiner, Gin, 3:56.27*

*Top 10 Record Book Mark
**New School Record
 
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Players Mentioned

Lorelei Bangit

Lorelei Bangit

Sophomore
Lucia Ianello

Lucia Ianello

Senior
Toby Khang

Toby Khang

Sophomore
Kaden Kluth

Kaden Kluth

Junior
Cooper Michaud

Cooper Michaud

Junior
Carver Morgan

Carver Morgan

Junior
Danny O

Danny O'Neill

Senior
Jason Omari-Anim

Jason Omari-Anim

Sophomore
Kate Riley

Kate Riley

Junior
Ciera Thacker

Ciera Thacker

Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Lorelei Bangit

Lorelei Bangit

Sophomore
Lucia Ianello

Lucia Ianello

Senior
Toby Khang

Toby Khang

Sophomore
Kaden Kluth

Kaden Kluth

Junior
Cooper Michaud

Cooper Michaud

Junior
Carver Morgan

Carver Morgan

Junior
Danny O

Danny O'Neill

Senior
Jason Omari-Anim

Jason Omari-Anim

Sophomore
Kate Riley

Kate Riley

Junior
Ciera Thacker

Ciera Thacker

Sophomore