Saturday, May 02, 2009

STANFORD, Calif. (May 2, 2009) - Back in March Heidi Dahl (Orem, Utah) set a regional qualifying mark out in Stanford in the 1500m, and on Saturday evening the senior distance runner set a new school record in the event at the 2009 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational.

Dahl, who ran a regional qualifying time of 4:23.70 last time out on the Cobb Track, took five seconds off that mark on Saturday evening and broke Catherine Berry's school record in the event. The Orem, Utah native finished fifth in her section two race with a time of 4:18.69 and bettered Berry's time by over three seconds.

"This was a huge improvement over her 1500m run back in March and to set a school record was a great accomplishment," commented associate head coach Michelle Byrne. "Heidi had a solid outing and had a stronger run this time out. Her time will move her up the regional list and she continues to move in the right direction."

Stanford's Alicia Follmar won the section two race with a time of 4:17.63, while Susan Kuijken of Florida State posted the top collegiate mark of 4:08.90. Anna Willard of NIKE won the overall race with a time of 4:06.90.