Freshman Claire Becker is first female Steeplechase runner in school history
St. Louis- It was a beautiful 74 degrees in Memphis, TN when the Griffins took to the track for their outdoor opener at Rhodes College. Competing against D I, II, and III schools, Fontbonne was ready to show their stuff.
On the women's side, Alyssa Tonner (Trinity Catholic, St. Louis, MO) ran in a very competitive 5000 meter race, finishing in a very respectable 7th place. In the 800 meter open, Jessica Brock (Long Beach Poly, CA) had a real gutsy second lap, passing several other racers to finish in 2:38 for the distance. Rounding it out was freshman Claire Becker (O'Hara, Kansas City, MO) in her debut Steeplechase race, who finished 6th in the race, becoming the first female athlete at Fontbonne to run such a race. "I just went out and focused on getting over the barriers. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again next week!"
The men's side saw freshman Cristian Sellars (Southwest HS, Washburn, MO) competing in both the Mile and 800m open. "Today was about conditioning and getting some good race exposure. It had been a few weeks so it was nice to get back on the track and get my competition legs back under me. I'm looking forward to getting after it again next week." Justin Horneker (St. Mary's, St. Louis, MO) filled out the rest of the men's roster with a decent performance in a high caliber 5000 meter race.
The team will travel to Augustana College next weekend for the Viking Olympics.