INDIANAPOLIS – It was a busy weekend for UIndy track & field with the top distance runners competing up north on Friday at the GVSU Holiday Open and the rest of the squad at home Saturday for the UIndy Season Opener. Both days featured excitement galore as two separate UIndy school records fell.

Berenice Cleyet-Merle, who has already established herself as a UIndy great holding two other UIndy records, started the action in Allendale, Mich., by taking down the program's 3000-meter record with a time of 9:26.77, besting her former teammate Lauren Bailey's previous mark* by nearly two seconds.

Joining her in the record breakers club was freshman Ellie Lengerich, who in her first collegiate meet topped a 14-year-old record in the high jump. Lengerich cleared 1.75 meters to top the previous record of 1.70, set be Emily Schaf back in 2007, while also hitting an NCAA provisional mark.

The entire distance crew had a solid return to the track, with AJ Goecker placing third in the 5K, Emily Sonderman placing second in the 800 and Emma Treibic taking fifth in the mile.

The next day in the ARC saw continued Hound success. Zoe Pentecost came out with a bang with her first weight throw of 19.57 meters good of both a PR and a provo, setting her up well for the rest of the season. She also performed well in the shot put, with her 13.36 mark just a third of a meter shy of another provo.

Women's pole vault featured three notable performances with Brittney Clark, Lauren Joseph and Sabrina Robison all hitting provisional marks. Clark's 3.84-meter mark led the way, as the she looks to qualify for Indoor nationals for the third straight year.

In the track side of the day, freshman Aaron Moody was in control of the 60-meter dash with impressive times in both the preliminaries and in the finals with him ending with a time of 7:08. Moody also captured the win in the 200. The same can be said on the women's side with fellow freshman Hallie Montgomery also pulling off the double.

Ailliyah Reese won the women's 60-meter hurdles (9.29) and Josiah Adams won the men's 400 (51.10).

UP NEXT
A similar weekend is ahead for the track & field team as part of the team will travel to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Open on Friday Dec. 10. Just a day later the Hounds are back home in the dome with the UIndy Winter Break Meet to signal the end of the semester. It is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m.


* Bailey's 3K mark of 9:28.24 was set 2/8/20