STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The American University indoor track team began the indoor season with three new program records and numerous top-10 times at the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge on Friday (Jan. 17). Junior Lorelei Bangit lowered her own program record in the 300 meters with a time of 39.95 seconds. Senior Kaden Kluth ran 2:20.16 in the 1,000 meters, smashing the program record by almost five seconds. Senior Carver Morgan led the 800 meters wire-to-wire, winning with an indoor program record of 1:48.82.

• Senior Annie Ripol started the day leading the Eagles in the unseeded 3k, running a personal best of 10:39.55.
• Sophomore Daniel Messer placed third in the unseeded 3k with a 13-second PR of 8:35.96.
• Freshman Shealyn Brochu ran a fifth AU all-time performance of 4:55.19 in the mile, a five-second PR indoors.
• Freshman Lilia Jones ran a personal best of 7.75 seconds in the 60 meters, good for second AU all-time.
• Along with Bangit's new 300 meter record, Lara Gin and Zoe Clark improved their all-time performances, Gin with a PR of 41.17 and Clark with a PR of 41.55.
• Junior Ciera Thacker moved up to tie for second AU all-time in the 200 meters with a time of 25.37 seconds. Freshmen Maren Holocek (25.53) and Lilia Jones (26.04) established themselves at fifth and seventh all-time.
• In the men's 200, junior Jason Omari-Anim moved from seventh to third all-time with a half-second PR of 22.53.
• Zack Zerbe ran a 32-second PR in the seeded 3k, running 8:33.28.
• The men's 4x400 squad of Daden Grogan, Carver Morgan, Emmett Engelhardt, and Kaden Kluth ran 3:25.02, good for third AU all-time.

See the full results here.

Coaches' Corner
"The team had a very strong season opener today up at Penn State," said head coach Sean Graham. "We came away with a lot of PRs, quite a number of program top-10 times, heat wins, event wins, and most notably three school records. The men and women came ready to compete. They got their work done over the winter break and took advantage of this first opportunity to put the spikes and American jersey on. Of course, like any meet, we had a few misses but gained great knowledge of where we are and what we need to work on as we begin progressing through the season.

"On the men's middle distance and distance side we had a number of standouts. Barak Goldstein and freshman Emmett Engelhardt both won their heats in convincing manners in the mile and 1k, respectively. Daniel Messer had a breakout 13-second PR in the 3k and Zack Zerbe had a solid opener in the same event. Kaden Kluth and Carver Morgan surprised me a little with the shape they're in already. They both broke strong school records today, Kaden smashing the 1k record by five seconds even with a less than optimal first 400, and Carver absolutely destroying the 800 in a school record. 

"In closing: We've now got a nice two-week training block for everyone before heading across town to George Mason. All in all, a very solid start to what looks to be an exciting season."

"Overall this was a great start for the women's distance group, who competed well despite being in the middle of a heavy training block," said associate head coach Zach Prescott. "I was impressed with our willingness across the board to put ourselves in aggressive positions and compete against national caliber competition.

"A few to highlight in particular include Shealyn Brochu, who ran fifth all-time for AU in the mile, as well as Zoe Rector who matched her PB and ran a top-10 league performance mark in the first time on the oval this year. I am really excited about the direction this group is heading and look forward to seeing what two more weeks of training are able to do for us as we look toward George Mason's Patriot Games."

"Solid opener for the group today," said associate head coach Tyra Massey. "A few athletes came away with PRs, and we were able to get some good feedback on where we are early in the season. Looking forward to cleaning things up in practice and seeing growth over the next few weeks."

Next Up
The Eagles will compete close to home in a couple of weeks, crossing the Potomac for the George Mason Patriot Games on January 31.

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AU RESULTS

3000m Unseeded, Women	4. Annie Ripol, 10:39.55 (PR) | 6. Skyler Tatum, 10:45.70 | 7. Estella Miller, 10:48.96 | 13. Fiona Murphy, 11:01.14 | 14. Scarlett Lestina, 11:06.86 (PR) | 15. Hannah Schwab, 11:17.47
3000m Unseeded, Men	3. Daniel Messer, 8:35.96 (PR) | 5. Jaden Frederick, 8:37.44 | 12. Jack Chandler, 9:17.73
Mile, Women	7. Shealyn Brochu, 4.:55.19 (PR)* | 28. Kate Riley, 5:25.75
Mile, Men	13. Mathias Deldicque, 4:16.02 | 15. Noah Smith, 4:19.39 | 16. Barak Goldstein, 4:20.03 (PR) | 17. Ty Parker, 4:21.30
60m, Women	15. Lilia Jones, 7.75 (PR)* | 22. Tamara Dorval, 7.82 | 29. Ciera Thacker, 7.92
60m, Men	17. Jason Omari-Anim, 7.05 | 32. Gregory Celariste, 7.46 | 33. James Soergel, 7.46
600m, Women	19. Hannah Puckett, 1:52.81
300m, Women	7. Lorelei Bangit, 39.93 (PR)*** | 12. Lara Gin, 41.17 (PR)* | 14. Zoe Clark, 41.55 (PR)*
300m, Men	17. Owen Garrett, 38.60 (PR)
1000m, Women	20. Charlotte Orr, 3:01.97 (PR) | 25. Kara Langbaum, 3:04.35 | 27. Georgina Chalow, 3:07.45 (PR)
1000m, Men	5. Kaden Kluth, 2:20.16 (PR)*** | 15. Emmett Engelhardt, 2:30.42 (PR) | 21. Daden Grogan, 2:34.46 (PR)
800m, Men	1. Carver Morgan, 1:48.82 (PR)*** | 8. Papakojo Danquah, 1:58.32 (PR)
200m, Women	12. Ciera Thacker, 25.37 (PR)* | 15. Maren Holocek, 25.53* | 26. Lilia Jones, 26.04 (PR)*
200m, Men	13. Jason Omari-Anim, 22.53 (PR)*
3000m Seeded, Women	13. Zoe Rector, 10:21.06 | 16. Lydia Drago, 10:40.33
3000m Seeded, Men	6. Cooper Michaud, 8:32.01 | 7. Zack Zerbe, 8:33.28 (PR)
4x400m Relay, Men	9. Grogan, Morgan, Enghelhardt, Kluth, 3:25.02*

* Top-10 Mark
*** New Program Record