Azusa, Calif. – The Bryan Clay Invitational saw a total rewriting of the national rankings for all divisions of collegiate competition. The Grizzlies threw their hat into the ring on Friday and Saturday and achieved an abundance of success in the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m runs, after already performing well in the 3000m steeplechase and 10000m on Thursday. Over the course of the three day meet, the Adams State men and women combined for 27 performances that count as provisional national qualifying times.
Devin Provence kicked things off for the Grizzlies on Friday morning. He placed 19th in the Open B sections of the 5000m, winning his heat. His time of 14:28.92 surpassed his previous personal best by over 20 seconds. The early evening saw the Grizzlies return to the track for the Invite sections of the 800m.
Jack Gumm had to avoid some tripping in front of him, but collected himself well to finish in 1:49.03. This time will see him on the bubble for qualification to the national meet.
Gabe Onelio had a superb finish to win his heat in 1:49.90. His time stands as a provisional national qualifying time.
Competition in the 5000m kicked off later in the evening.
Nathan Scherbarth was the first Grizzly up. He closed extremely well over the last two laps to come second in his heat and 13th in the Open A section of the event. His time of 14:00.03 was a 19 second personal best and will see him in a promising position for national qualification.
Kidus Begashaw competed well in the Invite sections of the 5000m despite this being his first time on the track since the indoor national meet due to a period of sickness. He turned in a time of 13:48.33, the 8th fastest in DII this season, to secure his spot on the line at the national championship. The very last race of the night saw
Thibault Tauziede run 13:55.60, which is currently 12th on the national list and should see him qualify for the national meet.
Saturday was the day of the 1500m. All of the Grizzlies doubled back from their previous events to lay down a time in the metric mile.
Jack Gumm,
Housem Hrabi, and
Nathan Scherbarth competed in the Invite sections. Gumm's 3:44.78 will see him on the bubble for national qualification. Hrabi turned in a provisional time of 3:47.09, and was followed closely by Scherbarth in a personal best of 3:47.38. The Open A sections of the 1500m saw to more Grizzlies turn in provisional national qualifying marks.
Gabe Onelio's 3:44.98 personal best clocking will have him on the bubble for making the meet.
Thibault Tauziede's heat winning 3:46.39 was also a personal best and provisional mark.
Kidus Begashaw and
David Millan also threw down new personal best's of 3:51.30 and 3:52.00, respectively. Competing in the Open B sections of the 1500m,
Devin Provence found his second personal best of the weekend, running 3:52.40.
Jazmin Estrada set the tone for the Grizzly women on Friday morning. She competed in the Open B sections of the 5000m and turned in an over 20 second personal best of 17:14.55.
Addison Bisceglie and
Clara Keddy kept the ball rolling on Friday afternoon. Competing in the Open B sections of the 800, they achieved times of 2:10.93 and 2:13.37, both sizable personal bests. Bisceglie won her heat by over one and a half seconds and secured a provisional national qualifying time.
Friday evening kicked off with
Aspen Fulbright,
Keira Damron, and
Haley Harkrider competing in the Open A sections of the 5000m. They recorded times of 16:37.58, 16:43.20, and 16:50.22, respectively, with all achieving new personal bests. Fulbright's time see her ranked 20th in DII, with a promising chance of national qualification. Damron and Harkrider achieved provisional national qualifying times.
Tristian Spence competed in the Invite sections of the 5000m, turning in a time of 16:01.94. This ranks her third in DII and will qualify her for the national championship where she will attempt to defend her title in the event.
Maggie McCleskey also competed in the Invite sections and ran 17:24.06.
A slew of Grizzlies returned to the track on Saturday to compete in the 1500m, all of them doubling back after prior races. The Open A sections saw the following finishes by Adams State runners:
Marie Garret in a personal best and provisional mark of 4:28.56,
Addison Bisceglie in a personal best of 4:30.07,
Clara Keddy in a personal best of 4:31.10,
Keira Damron in 4:39.71,
Tanya Bouet in 4:40.01, and
Aspen Fulbright in 4:40.97. In the Invite sections,
Maggie McCleskey and
Tristian Spence both turned in provisional national qualifying times. McCleskey's 4:25.11 does not better her tenth ranked performance from earlier in the season, but Spence's 4:24.27 moves her up to 14th on the national list and into a comfortable qualifying postion.
The Grizzlies will be back in action next Saturday and Sunday at the 2026 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship hosted by CSU-Pueblo.
