SPOKANE - Friday was an amazing day for the NNU Track and Field team at the Washington State University Open in Spokane, Washington.

A total of eighteen personal records, numerous spots claimed on the top ten all-time lists, and one broken school record are the results of a long day at The Podium, Spokane's new indoor track facility. The WSU Open consisted of 29 other teams ranging from NAIA to NCAA Division I.

"It was fun sitting in the stands to watch our team perform for our school, each other, themselves, and most importantly, our Loving Father," said head coach Danny Bowman.

"Tyler Shea dropped the hammer when he broke our school record and won his heat, Hunter Braseth broke 50 seconds in the 400m for the first time (indoor or outdoor), Abby Wood made adjustments all week in her transition phase to drop her time to just .01 away from the school record in the 60m, Cody Robbins broke a three-year-old PR . . . all of these and more were a huge highlight to me."

Senior Tyler Shea is still riding the high of breaking the 3000 meter NNU school record, especially since it was his first race since cross country season ended in early November.

"I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself for time and I just wanted to have fun. I wanted to try to win my heat, and I was able to get in the pack right behind the leaders for the first mile. I felt comfortable with the pace, so I made a move with 600m to go and took the lead. I was feeling good at that point and I was surprised I had so much left in my legs.

"For my first race of the year, I was happy with how it went. I was trying mentally to not be focused on the record because I didn't want to run for time. When I had a lap left to go, I was at 8 minutes flat, so I knew it was within reach.

"At the end of the race, the whole team was on the backstretch and came up to me. It was cool to see how excited everyone else was."

Despite breaking a record that stood for a decade, Shea plans to keep focused on the task at hand.

"Next race, the goal is to be competitive and the time will take care of itself. I'm just focusing on placing as high as I can right now because Conference is coming up in a few weeks."

The Nighthawks' next competition will be on February 11-12 at the Mountain State Games at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho.