SALISBURY, Md. – Gallaudet University sophomore Sevan Ikeda (Fremont, Calif.) turned in the third-fastest 8-kilometer time in program history Saturday afternoon as all three Bison runners posted personal-best times at the Don Cathcart Invitational hosted by Salisbury University at WinterPlace Park.

Ikeda finished seventh overall out of 73 runners with a career-best time of 25 minutes, six seconds, despite navigating a muddy course and running through rain. His performance moved him up to third on Gallaudet's all-time 8K list and marked another strong showing for the defending United East Conference champion.

Ikeda shaved more than a minute off his time from last year's Don Cathcart Invitational, when he completed the same course in 26:21.

First year Dylan Olmos (San Jose, Calif.) continued his impressive rookie season with an 18th-place finish. Olmos crossed the finish line in a personal-best 26:32, improving his previous best at the 8K distance by nearly two minutes.

First year Kai Huot (St. Augustine, Fla.) completed Gallaudet's trio of career-best performances as he finished 59th overall in 31:25, improving his previous personal best by more than three minutes.

The recent rain left portions of the WinterPlace Park course muddy, but the challenging conditions didn't prevent the Bison trio from turning in their fastest collegiate 8K performances.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) senior Banele Mkabela won the race in 24:50, followed closely by teammate Siyabonga Mbatha in 24:51. TCNJ junior Phil Pace was the top NCAA Division III finisher as he placed third overall in 24:51.

TCNJ won the meet with 38 points, followed by host Salisbury with 45 points and UMES with 53 points. Seven teams recorded scores while Gallaudet did not record a team score with three runners competing.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will return to action for its final regular-season meet in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. at the Rowan Border Battle hosted by Rowan University at DREAM Park.