LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The Fort Lewis College men's track team had not competed since racing at the New Mexico Spring Open all the way back on March 25, but they didn't waste any time easing back into the swing of things when they competed at the UNLV Silver State Track and Field Classic held at Myron Partridge Stadium & Sheila Karr-Smith Field in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"We needed a good opportunity to rip," Coach Joshua Coon smiled after the Skyhawks roared out of the starting blocks in their first event of the day behind a first place finish from Steven Nez in the 10K.
"Steven ran the first NCAA men's provisional qualifying time in school history," Coon said after the Redshirt Sophomore crossed the finish line in 30:35.22. "He's been working hard for four years and it's been an honor to watch him progress and represent the Skyhawks with class."
Nez lead a quartet of Fort Lewis runners who all posted personal best times, with Ricardo Trejo (30:57.91) finishing third, David Wilcox (32:17.66) claiming fourth and Nicholas Weber (32:28.65) rounding out the top five in the event.
"Ricardo was right behind Steven, and ran a personal best by nearly two minutes. His big winter of training is paying off," Coon reported. "David Wilcox ran a personal best by 30 seconds, and Nick ran a very solid first 10K as well."
The coach said he felt the times posted by Nez and Trejo would qualify them for the RMAC Championships in two weeks, and he believes Wilcox and Weber may make the cut with their marks as well.
The first race set the tone for the rest of the day, as Fort Lewis clearly dominated the distance events, including a sweep of the top five spots in the 5K race.
John Ngaruiya (15:17.56) took the top prize in that race, followed by Elvis Chelak (15:36.79) in second and Cody Speece (15:55.91) in third. Ethan Bartlett (16:18.09) was fourth and Max Robinson (16:26.41) closed out the top five for the Skyhawks.
Ngaruiya returned to the track a short time later for the 1500 Meter Run, but didn't let a quick turnaround or increasing winds keep him off the top of the podium. His time of 4:04.97 was good enough to claim first place, while teammate Allen Fowler (4:07.95) took second and Asa Demert (4:24.07) was fourth.
"The wind picked up in the 1500, but the guys did the best they could with the situation," Coon reasoned.
Fort Lewis finished the day by sending eight runners to the starting line in the 800 Meter Run, and David Moenning led that crew with a fourth place finish in a time of 1:57.07. Aaron Busche (1:59.08) finished fifth, and Fowler (2:01.88) was right on his heels in sixth.
"All three of them ran solid 800s," Coon said.
Chelak (2:05.26) led the next contingent of Skyhawks across the finish line in seventh place, barely edging out Javier Victorino (2:05.78) in the eighth spot. Speece (2:07.84) rounded out the top ten, and Robinson (2:09:56) and Bartlett (2:14.52) were 11th and 12th respectively.
When it was all said and done, the Skyhawks scored 101 points to finish third out of four squads in attendance at the meet, and Coon said he was pleased with how his team responded after a long layover.
"We hoped for a little more competition after losing the chance to compete at a great meet at Colorado Mesa last week, but everyone fought, even when the wind hit," Coon said. "You can't ask for much more than that."
The team will continue its final push towards the RMAC Championships at the end of the month when they compete at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday.
