Track Teams Go The Distance in Iowa

INDIANOLA, Iowa and DES MOINES, Iowa -- Jake Ziebarth finished eighth at the prestigious Drake Relays and four other Creighton Track student-athletes placed in the Top 10 of the Kip Janvrin Open on Thursday night in Iowa.

Ziebarth continued his strong spring on the famous blue oval at Drake Stadium, taking eighth of 21 competitors in the 1,500 at the Drake Relays with a time of 3:48.93. That was less than half a second off his school record set last weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

"Jake ran really well at Drake in the 1,500," said head coach Chris Gannon. He is doing a great job of learning and navigating being in elite races. Racing becomes so different at those levels, he's done a fantastic job this year of absorbing that knowledge and continuing to get better. He ran the second-best time of his life and is definitely sitting on a breakout performance when the race and weather align."

Just a half-hour away in Indianola, Iowa, the remainder of the Bluejay track teams competed in Indianola, Iowa, at the Kip Janvrin Open hosted by Simpson College.

"We saw most of our adjustments to our entries at Kip Janvrin, with the 800s and sprints scheduled for Friday," said Gannon. "With the looming weather, we moved or scratched those athletes into Thursday night events so we could ensure their opportunity to compete. A number of PR's and season-best marks, including a few seniors who ran their last race in a Bluejay uniform."

Freshman Tommy Murray was one of eight Bluejays to race in the 1,500 and placed fifth of the 110 runners to compete. He was the lone Bluejay to break the four-minute barrier, clocking a time of 3:56.89. Sophomore Cole Haith was CU's second best performer in the event with a time of 4:02.18.

Creighton's best finisher in any event on Thursday was Marcos Gonzalez, who placed third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. He crossed the finish line in 9:18.31, just ahead of freshman teammate Blair Ptacek (9:32.65), who took 13th.

The final event the Bluejay men competed in was the 5,000 meters, where Eli Moore (15:02.68) and Ryan Montera (15:04.19) finished 16th and 17th, respectively.

The Creighton women also competed in the same three events in Indianola.

Freshman Scarlett Pearlman earned a seventh-place showing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing in 11:44.64.

Morgan Koca earned a top 10 showing in the 5,000 meters, placing ninth in 17:38.98. Katherine Soule finished her heat in 18:16.37 to take 26th.

Leading the nine Bluejays that raced in the 1,500 was sophomore Carly Manchester. She was 11th in 4:43.99, finishing just ahead of the 4:46.49 time clocked by Anika Nettekoven in her outdoor debut in the event this spring.

The Bluejays now turn their attention to their first appearance at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track Championships Presented by JEEP, to be held May 9-11 on the campus of Villanova University, though Gannon didn't rule out the possibility of a few runners competing in the USD Tune-Up in Vermillion, S.D., next Friday.

"Even with the season wrapping up for a portion of the team, we still have some great opportunities and history to be written this season," said Gannon.

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Players Mentioned

Marcos Gonzalez

Cole Haith

Morgan Koca

Carly Manchester

Ryan Montera

Eli Moore

Tommy Murray

Anika Nettekoven

Scarlett Pearlman

Blair Ptacek

Katherine Soule

Jake Ziebarth