O'Brien Runs School Record 1500 At S.F. State Distance Carnival

3/31/2017 7:01:00 PM | Women's Cross Country & Track

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – First-year student-athlete Kelly O'Brien ran a school-record 1500m, one of four personal bests clocked by the Wildcats on Friday at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, Northwestern's season opener on the outdoor track circuit.

All three Wildcats competing in the 1500 ran personal bests in the event, and cracked the Top-10 times in program history. In addition to O'Brien's school-record 4:31.04, Isabel Seidel earned the No. 4 spot on the list at 4:33.16 and Sara Coffey is the new No. 8 at 4:37.16.

In the 5000 meter race, first-year student-athlete Sarah Nicholson finished in the Top-25 of a 149-person field with the seventh-fastest time in Northwestern history, a personal-best 17:02.58.

"It was a great way to start the outdoor season, coming off of spring break it's always tough to know what sort of shape the women will be in," said head coach 'AHavahla Haynes. " With the performances on the track this weekend it shows that the team is in a good spot moving forward. For Kelly to go out and break the school record after some adversity in the fall, followed by a tough indoor season where she was still gaining fitness, is fantastic. Any time we move up on the Top-10 lists or establish personal bests, it's been a good weekend, and it shows the progress that our program is making. This is the first step towards getting as many possible women qualified to the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas."

The Distance Carnival provided an opportunity for Northwestern to test itself against stern competition from a diverse field of competitors including California, Oregon State, BYU, Missouri, Arizona State, Boise State, Pittsburgh and UNLV.

1500 Meters
8. Kelly O'Brien – 4:31.04 [School Record, Personal Best]
15. Isabel Seidel – 4:33.52 [Personal Best]
25. Sara Coffey – 4:37.16 [Personal Best]

5000 Meters
24. Sarah Nicholson – 17:02.58 [Personal Best]
58. Jena Pianin – 17:27.26
74. Brooke Pigneri – 17:42.07

S.F. STATE DISTANCE CARNIVAL
FINAL RESULTS – 1500m
FINAL RESULTS – 5000m

Northwestern's upcoming outdoor track schedule includes a visit to the Redbird Invitational on April 8 in Normal, Illinois, on the campus of Illinois State University, as well as the Bryan Clay Invitational and Virginia Challenge later in the month of April.