SALEM, Ore. – Competing in a significant early-season meet across town at McCulloch Stadium, the Corban University men's and women's track & field teams saw a number of strong performances at Saturday's Willamette Invitational. No competitor was more impressive than Robert Swoboda, who set a school record in the 5000 meters with Corban's first-ever sub-15-minute time (14:59.82).

RESULTS

"Today was great experience for our men's and women's teams against NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III competition," head coach Norm Berney said. " The highlight of the day was Robert's school-record win in the 5K; this is the first time a Corban runner has broken the 15-minute barrier, and his 60-second final lap was one of the strongest finishes in Warrior track history."

Swoboda used a furious kick at the tail end of his race to cap off the historic performance, narrowly missing the NAIA 'B' standard (14:59.00) in the event by less than a second.

Junior Seth Larson established a new personal-best in the 110-meter hurdles, placing sixth individually with his time of 16.41 seconds.

Coming off her nationals-clinching performance last week, Hannah Clarizio was once again outstanding on Saturday, delivering yet another NAIA 'A' standard effort in the steeplechase (11:09.24). Her mark from last Thursday's Willamette Dual Meet still stands as the top mark in the NAIA.

"On the women's side, Hannah Clarizio ran another national qualifying time with a third-place finish," Berney added. "Our girl's 4x100-meter relay team ran a strong sub-49-second time, which is a great time for this early in the season."

The 4x100-meter quartet of Kristi Childers, Selina Newingham, Leah McClain and MacKenzie Wilson finished with a time of 48.90 seconds in the event, taking third overall.

As an individual, Wilson also clocked a new season-best time for the Warriors in the 100 meters, winning her heat and finishing seventh overall with her time of 12.66 seconds.

CLICK HERE to listen to Wilson's thoughts after the race.

All in all, there was much for Berney to be excited about after watching the men's and women's track & field teams compete in the first major invitational of the year.

The Warriors will be back in action in just a couple of days, traveling to Forest Grove, Ore. to compete in the Boxer Multi-Event Invitational on Monday and Tuesday (March 25-26).