BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The ULM track & field program saw another school record fall on Friday as the men’s distance medley relay broke a 30-year old record at the USM Cupid Classic, ran at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The team of sophomores Andre Brown and Dusan Makevic, junior Hillary Kirwa and freshman Vinnie Van Puyvelde finished in an astounding 10:05.97. It broke ULM’s previous record of 10:07.11 set in 1984.
Kirwa ran 1200m, Brown 400m, Van Puyvelde 800m and Makevic a mile.
“I am so proud of these four guys. I really couldn’t be any more proud,” said distance coach Karoly Varga. “I dedicate this record to my wife and my daughter who have sacrificed the most.”
It was the third school record to fall in the last two weeks for ULM.
In individual events, Makevic continued his impressive indoor campaign by winning the mile. The Sabac, Serbia native finished first out of 49 competitors with a 4:15.19 time. Freshman Vinnie Van Puyvelde also posted a solid time of 4:17.00, a personal-record, to finish sixth in the event.
“Dusan and Vinnie ran a great mile. It was a tactical race and the last lap was a kick,” said Varga.
Makevic’s performance comes just one week after breaking the school record and winning the 3000m at the Vulcan Invite. His time of 8:18.54 broke the previous ULM record by more than a full second.
In the women’s 800m, school record holder Teona Glave nearly broke her own mark with a 2:15.87 time. It was seven-tenths of a second away from her school record set last weekend at the Vulcan Invite.
Sophomore Rebecca Dark set a personal-indoor record in the mile with a time of 5:24.50. She also competed in the 800m and crossed the finish line in 2:30.16.
The men’s 3000m saw Kirwa improve upon his season best with a 8:37.98 time to finish in sixth. Kirwa had just 30 minutes before running the first leg of the record setting DMR team.
The Warhawks competed against 45 teams. Full results were available at xpresstiming.com online.
It was the final tune-up for the Warhawks before the Sun Belt Indoor Championships on Monday, Feb. 24 –Tuesday, Feb. 25. The race will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex where the Warhawks have raced in their last three meets.
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