NORWALK, Calif. — Carsyn Koch took nearly two seconds off her school record in the 800-meter run at the 58th annual Mt. SAC Relays , held at Cerritos College Falcon Stadium April 16, 2016.
The Cedarville University sophomore, who is a 2014 graduate of Washburn District High School, won her heat in the invitational division with a time of 2:03.58. She placed fifth of 16 competitors overall.
Koch set the previous Cedarville mark of 2:05.21 at the 2015 NCAA Div. II Outdoor Championship when she was the national runner-up.
The Mt. SAC performance meets the Div. II automatic qualifying standard and is currently the fastest time in the country for Div. II and seventh fastest regardless of division.
For her performance, Koch was named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Div. II Outdoor Track and Field National Athlete of the Week.
She won the NCAA indoor 800-meter title this past winter and was the national outdoor runner-up last year.
Thomas Beckum of Caribou, who is the girls’ cross country coach at Caribou High School, also turned in a brilliant performance at the meet.
Beckum was seeded fifth out of five runners in the men’s 800-meter run in the masters division and placed third in 2:07.91, which established a new United States-leading mark for the 40-44 age division. The time is also fifth in the world.
Beckum is planning to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Masters Outdoor National Track and Field Championships this summer.
