Eight members of the distance squad for the Temple University’s track and field team traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend to compete at the Raleigh Relays.
Sophomores Helene Gottlieb and Kristian Jensen both earned new personal bests in the 1500-meter and in the 5,000-meter.
“Helene’s somebody who’s bought into the way that we train here,” coach James Snyder said. “She’s someone who has believed in the process that we’re going through and has worked her tail off to get to where she is. She’s been through all of this before, and continues to elevate her competitiveness as she continues to get fitter based on the type of training we’re doing.”
Senior Katie Leisher and sophomore Michelle Joyce wrapped the day up for the Owls with a solid finish in the 10k.
They each finished in the top-10, with Joyce finishing in eighth place with a time of 35 minutes, 48.42 seconds. Leisher came in 10th place with a time of 35:54.27.
Sophomore Lucy Jones and juniors Kira Von Ehren and Millie Howard were also in action.
Jones competed in her top event, the steeplechase, for the second time this year. She finished with a time of 10:49.89 to put her in 25th place.
Howard finished 38th in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:30.33. Von Ehren ran in the 5000-meter and finished in 68th place with a time of 17:12.81. It was the first time both of them had competed in those events this year.
“Being able to control the things that we can control and remain very focused on our long term goals is very vital,” Snyder said. “We’re still learning from the situations where things went well, but also learning from the situations where things didn’t go so well. I think we’re working on what’s going to allow us to be successful.”
Gottlieb competed in the 1500-meter as well and finished in seventh place. She ran a time of 4:20.29, which gave her a new personal best by about eight seconds. That is the fastest run time in the conference so far this year.
Sophomore Kristian Jensen and junior Kevin Lapsansky were the male competitors for the Owls this weekend. Lapsansky competed in the 10,000-meter finals and finished with a time of 30:26.96 which put him in 20th place.
Jensen ran in the 5000-meter event and beat his previous personal best by about 12 seconds. He finished in 19th place with a time of 14:06.87.
“Kristian went 14:06.87 in the 5000m, which was a huge 12 seconds personal best,” Snyder said. “That’s a mark that puts him in the top 20 in the country right now in that event. He had a huge performance and he continues to show his growth as well.”
On Friday, Temple will host the second annual Temple Invitational at the Temple Sports Complex.
“Anytime we have a chance to have a meet at home, it’s always a really good experience,” Snyder said. “We’re giving our girls and our guys an opportunity to compete here on our home track in front of some fans and improve upon where they’ve been this season.”
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