Rams shred meet record in 10,000 meters on day two of MW Outdoor Track & Field Championships

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CLOVIS, Calif. – Jerrell Mock, Grant Fischer, Eric Hamer and Luke Giugliano of the Colorado State track & field team each broke the meet record in the 10,000 meters to highlight performances by the Rams on the second day of the Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Mock paced the record-setting performance, breaking away from the pack with several laps to go before crossing the finish line in 29:24.87. Fischer took second with a time of 29:35.20, followed by Hamer (29:38.14) in third and Giugliano (29:41.47) in fourth. Giugliano placed ahead of the No. 5 finisher by over 15 seconds.

No other current conference member has ever placed the top four finishers in any men's distance event in MW Outdoor Championships history. In addition to the meet record-breaking performances, Hamer and Giugliano each registered personal bests and moved up to No. 11 and No. 12, respectively, in the event on CSU's all-time outdoor list. On the women's side, Darby Gilfillan scored for the Rams with a seventh-place finish and time of 36:08.21 in the 10,000.

Freshman Eric Lundgren was the highest-finishing combined events athlete for CSU, placing fifth in the decathlon with a personal-best 6,400 points (18th in CSU history). Throwing events were a strength for Lundgren once again on day two, as the freshman topped the decathlon discus field with a best throw of 142-9 (43.52m) and took second in the javelin (personal-best 158-4/48.26m). The Cheyenne, Wyo., native added personal bests in the 110-meter hurdles (16.71), the pole vault (10-11.75/3.35m) and nearly a 10-second personal-best in the 1,500 meters (4:49.63).

Fellow freshman Dustin Ethridge also scored in the decathlon, tallying 6,026 points for sixth place. Ethridge had collegiate bests in four of the final five events, including the 110-meter hurdles (17.44), the discus (103-0/31.39m), the javelin (129-2/39.36m) and the 1,500 meters (4:54.04). His top event of the day was the pole vault, where he cleared 13-7.25 (4.15m).

Junior Gabby Smith was the first Ram to score at this year's outdoor conference meet, as she tallied a personal-best 5,082 points to place sixth in the heptathlon. Powering her second-day surge was a big personal best mark of 126-10 (38.66m) in the javelin, leading to a fourth-place finish in the event. Smith closed the day with a personal best in the 800 meters, where she took second (2:20.22). The junior's final score was a personal best by over 400 feet, and ranks seventh in program history.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State distance coach Art Siemers
"Our men went one-two-three-four and all went under the 3k record at the indoor conference meet two years ago, and I thought that this performance was probably even a step above that. Those four guys at the indoor meet were All-Americans and the expectations were different. Running against two of Air Force's best runners, I thought that Eric (Hamer) and Luke (Giugliano) just stepped it up to another level and executed the plan perfectly. Our guys believe in the process, and when we have a plan, they always execute it. That's the sign of a really strong team. You get a handful of these in your coaching career. This was a really special race."

NOTES
- The previous meet record for the 10,000 meters was 29:49.83 by Air Force's Kyle Eller in 2016. All four Rams topped that record by at least eight seconds.
- Gabby Smith's previous personal best in the heptathlon was 4,669 points, which she scored at the Mines Nature's Bakery Invite on March 23 and 24.

UP NEXT
The Colorado State track & field team continues competition at the 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday. Field events start at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT with the men's hammer and women's shot put. Track events begin at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT with the women's 1,500 meters preliminaries.

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