FULLERTON, Calif.—The LMU Lions set a series of new personal records under the lights at the Ben Brown Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton on March 7, with seven of the eight competing athletes recording their best times.

The sophomore trio of Rylee Guinn (Brentwood, Calif.), Tessa Kline (Springfield, Mass.) and Ruby Tiburcio (New York, N.Y.) started things off for the Lions in the 1500m. Guinn clocked a personal-best 4:43.97 to claim the first PR of the evening for the team. In Heat 3, Kline and Tiburcio worked together throughout the race, both securing personal bests with strong finishes of 4:58.06 and 4:58.02, respectively. Tiburcio's mark was a six-second improvement off her previous best, highlighting her continued development this season.

"Our 3 sophomores in the 1500m set the tone for the evening, each running aggressive races and coming away with personal bests," said Head Coach Chloe Curtis. "I love the way they positioned themselves and each had a fast closing lap."

Later in the night, Guinn, Kline, and Tiburcio returned to the track to take on the 800m. They were joined by juniors Ayden Brown (Lafayette, La.) and Katie Power (Mystic, Conn.), who were racing fresh. Brown led the group with a personal-best 2:19.09. Running in the same heat as Brown, Guinn posted her second PR of the evening with a time of 2:19.62. After missing last track season due to injury, she continues to make strides in her performances showing significant progress with each race.

"Ayden made a great move to take the lead with 250 meters to go, which broke the race open," said Curtis. "Having her teammate Rylee in the race certainly helped both of them race to new personal bests."

Again competing in the same heat, Kline (2:26.92) and Tiburcio (2:27.04) continued to push each other to respectable finishes in the two-lap race. Closing out the evening for the Lions was Power who lowered her personal best to 2:27.09, marking a notable improvement from where she was at this point last season. "Katie ran a smart race and fought to outkick a Pepperdine athlete, which helped take about 1.5 seconds off her previous best time," said Curtis.
In the 5000m, senior Hayden Washington (Valencia, Calif.) opened her season in the event, finishing in 17:49.12 in Heat 1. Trinity Tingey (Danville, Calif.) added another PR to her season, running 18:53.93 in Heat 3—shaving nearly six seconds off her previous best.

"Trinity is on a roll right now," said Curtis. "This was her first 5k on the track since 2023, so I can't wait to see what she can do over these next couple of months with more race experience."

Next up, the Lions will compete at UCLA on Friday and Saturday, March 15-16.