Yerow Breaks School 8K Record at UAlbany

Abshir Yerow running towards the finish line.

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 18, 2019) – Abshir Yerow (Syracuse, NY / Nottingham) broke the nine-year-old school 8K record Friday at the 53rd UAlbany R.K. Munsey Invitational. His new school standard of 25:07.3 was good for third place overall in a field of 82 runners. He was the first of four Broncos that placed in the top 16 as the team finished third with 82 points against a field of NCAA Division I and II programs. They trailed only first-place Binghamton and second-place host UAlbany.

Yerow beat the previous top mark of 25:08.5, held by Chris Burnett at Oneonta in 2010. All seven Delhi harriers finished the race in less than 27-and-a-half minutes, with their five-man average of 26:09 also setting a new school record, breaking the old mark of 26:20 set by the team at the Paul Short Invitational in 2017.

This success spawned a halo effect for several Broncos that set personal bests. Freshman Aiden Berlinski was the second Bronco to come across with a PR time of 26:09.9 to take 14th, as Ted Oster earned 15th with a PR of 26:11.0, one minute better than his previous career low, and Lucas Reilly 16th at 26:23.6. Aaron Vivlamore took 34th with a new best of 27:04.2 and fellow freshman Aidan Cutting 40th with a time of 27:25.1. Devon Benarick finished things out with a 41st-place finish of 27:26.0.

"Today impressed me, not just because of our marks, but because many of our men stepped up," said head coach Robb Munro. "With Seth Bywater being a last-minute scratch today, it created a need for others to step up.  Aiden Berlinski set a new career best by 41 seconds, Ted Oster ran a huge PR earning him a spot in our 'Sub-27' club, Lucas Reilly ran a huge season best and Aaron Vivlamore took full advantage of the opportunity to be our fifth scorer with a breakout performance.  This was the kind of race we were looking to have as we get ready for the NAC Championships."

In addition, five Broncos ran in the preceding 5K open. Frank Martucci landed tenth at 17:25.3, Stanton Baker 11th at 17:25.9, Braxxdon Dawson 12th at 17:43.4, Derrick Kenan 13th at 17:55.3, and Tyler Kemble 16th at 20:09.0.

Friday marked the end of Delhi's regular season, as the men make the leap towards postseason preparation. They will run in their first-ever NAC Championship appearance on Saturday, Nov. 2, followed by the USCAA National Championships on Friday, Nov. 8.