BROOKINGS, S.D. – Beaver middle-distance runner
Lewis Cotterill led the way with another school record, as the Minot State men's and women's track and field teams piled up the season-best efforts Friday at the DII Invitational indoor track and field meet hosted by South Dakota State.
Cotterill finished third overall in the men's 600 meters with the fastest time in Minot State's history, and the top time in the NSIC, finishing in a record-effort of 1 minute, 21.39 seconds. Cotterill broke the all-time record of 1:22.67 run by Khaldon Evans in 2010.
That new record and top time was just one of many season-best efforts for the Beavers who had 11 Top-10 finishes at the power-packed meet that featured nine of Minot State's NSIC rivals.
Joining in the top times and performances were women's distance runners
Caitlin Cornell,
Paulette Dominguez, and
Alicia Murillo. Cornell was third in the women's mile in 5:18.59 on Friday, a season-best and the fifth-fastest time in the NSIC, while Dominguez was second in the women's 3,000 in 10:40.96, and Murillo was third in the 3,000 in 10:44.04, season-best efforts by both runners.
Also adding a top time in the NSIC was Trent Miller in the men's mile as he finished sixth overall in 4:21.87, just more than a second in front of teammate
Jacob Jensen who was seventh in 4:23.00 in the mile, the fourth-fastest time in the NSIC this winter.
Juan Gutierrez added a second-best in the NSIC performance with a season-best race in the men's 800 on Friday as he finished seventh in 1:57.54, and the Minot State men's 4x400 relay team of Cotterill, Gutierrez,
Jaylan Brown, and
Damian Nino also had an NSIC second-best effort as they finished fifth Friday in 3:26.03 in their relay.
Other season-best and Top-10 efforts on Friday by the Beavers included a time of 3:15.15 by
Jessica Thomas-Billot in the women's 1,000, which was is sixth-best in the NSIC, a throw of 49 feet, 6 ½ inches for
Sophia Kenyon who finished ninth in the women's weight throw, a time of 9:16.33 for
Nick Merillana in the men's 3,000, good for ninth on Friday, and a qualifying time of 8.32 seconds in the women's 60-meter dash by
Ashley Miller, who was 10
th in the event.
Friday's meet was the first of two this weekend for the Beavers who are back in action at the Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitational hosted by South Dakota State, a meet filled with NCAA Division I programs.
