Henry Pick Takes 14 Seconds Off CMS 5000-Meter Record at Occidental Invitational

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Henry Pick ran a 14:01.29 in the 5000 meters at the Occidental Invitational on Saturday, taking 14 seconds off of his own program record and moving him into the top 10 in the country this season.

Pick set a new CMS record earlier this spring with a 14:15.31, breaking the mark held by Stevie Steinberg by just .05 seconds. At the Occidental Invitational, though, he ran it 14.02 faster, ranking eighth in the nation.

Pick came into the day ranked 19th, and the top 22 earn invitations to the NCAA Division III Championships, so his performance helped put him in strong position to earn his way back to nationals, after earning All-America honors a year ago. 

In other action at the Occidental Invitational, Hayden Beauchemin ran a 9:11.24 in the steeplechase, putting him in 20th place nationally and moving him up to seventh in CMS history. Jamie Cockburn finished in first place in the 400 meters with a 48.15, while Charles Albach moved into 35th nationally in the 1500 with a 3:50.25, which places him sixth in CMS history. 

For the Athenas, Caroline DelVecchio ran a season-best in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:01.41, which ranks seventh nationally. Shriya Velichala also moved into the top 50 nationally (No. 40) with a 1:04.33, while Riley Capuano moved into 39th in the 1500 with a 4:36.87, which places 10th at CMS. 

CMS will continue to compete at the Azusa Pacific and Redlands Last Chance Meets in the next two weeks to try to earn qualifying standards for the NCAA Division III Championships from May 26-28 in Rochester, N.Y.