Perrin Breaks Indoor 5,000-meter School Record

Friday, January 25

Seattle, WA

4 P.M.

Gonzaga University

UW Invitational

1/25/2019 8:51:00 PM | Track and Field

Men’s DMR Team also sets new program record

SEATTLE — Gonzaga's Jake Perrin broke the program's indoor 5,000-meter record at the University of Washington Invitational inside the Dempsey Center Friday.

Perrin's 14:15.36 finish smashed the previous record of 14:23.56 set in the Dempsey in the 2015 Husky Classic by Colin O'Neil. Perrin placed seventh in the event and had the fifth-best collegiate finish.

"Jake cruised through the first mile in 4:28 and stayed close to the leaders throughout most of the race, before fading a bit over the last 600 meters," Director of GU Track Pat Tyson said. "He still stayed engaged, but it was a tough field of runners in the elite 17-man field."

"We're proud of Jake," Zag teammate Yacine Guermali said. "He checked back in after fading mid-race, which is a skill all of us can work on! Grit is important in the 5k!"

Peter Hogan placed fourth in his 5,000-meter heat with a time of 14:27.56. His finish ranks third on the GU all-time list. Hogan placed 13th overall in the event.

The quartet of Kyle Thompson, Jonah Sandoval, Sammy Truax and Graham Wendle set a new program distance medley relay record. Thompson's 1,200-meter split was 3:05.60, Sandoval finished his 400 meters at 52.3, Truax's 800-meter split was 1:56.9 and Wendle had a 4:14.8 1,600-meter time. The previous school-best time was 10:27.04 set in 2015.

"The team ran with a lot of competitive spirit," Tyson said. "I'm really proud of these four guys!"

Claire Manley crossed the line at 17:52.97 in the women's 5,000 meters.

"This was not the performance that Claire had hoped for coming over this weekend, but it was a growing experience nonetheless," Gonzaga women's Head Coach Jake Stewart said. "Claire needs to believe in herself and needs to understand that she's a different runner now and that big things await. She prepares really well, and will undoubtedly bounce back and grow from this."

Six Bulldogs run on Day 2 of the UW Invitational Saturday, beginning with Scott Kopczynski and Brandon Pollard in the men's mile at 11:20 a.m. Live video and results will be available on GoZags.com.