NORWALK, Calif. – Regina Salinas and Fabian Lutz both recorded personal records in the 10,000 meters, as the Islanders competed in the Mt. SAC Relays Thursday night at Cerritos College's Falcon Stadium.
RESULTS: Women's 10,000m (pdf) | Men's 10,000m (pdf)
Salinas had a come-from-behind effort in which she recorded a negative split, running the second 5,000 meters 15 seconds faster than the first. She passed 17 competitors in the second half of the race to record a time of 36:45.02.
The senior improved on her personal best by over two minutes and moved passed 2016 Olympic trials marathoner Anita Quirno for the number two spot in the Islander record books. Salinas placed 18th out of 38 in competition in California.
Lutz, meanwhile, placed 19th in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 30:37.66. He became the second fastest Islander ever in the event, passing former standout Justin Adame. Only two-time national champion Shadrack Songok has run the 10,000 meters faster in an Islander uniform.
Lutz launched his attack a bit earlier than Salinas, crossing the first 5,000 meters in 15:10. He struggled somewhat in the second half of the race, running around 15:28. But even with that, it was a 50 second improvement on his personal best.
"Both Regina and Fabian had a night here that make it worth while to attend the event," said Shawn Flanagan, Director of Track & Field. "Even though when they ran it was well past their bed times, almost 1 a.m. Corpus time for Fabian, the weather was a perfect 60 degrees, there was no wind, and the competition is always fantastic as there is always somebody to run with or close ahead of you to chase. It allowed both to improve significantly and reach a much higher level of performance than they have in the past."
Philipp Baar will compete in the 5,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays Friday night, while the rest of the squad heads to Houston for the J. Fred Duckett Twilight on Saturday.
For the latest information on Islanders Track & Field, follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (/TAMUCCTFXC).
