January 7, 2012

(Bloomington, IN) The Indiana Invaders opened their 2012 Indoor Season at the Indiana University Open with a couple of Team Records in the 500 meter and 1000 meter races.

Veteran Ricardo Bell got things rolling with a win in the rarely contested 500 meter dash (video link) posting a team record 1:04.05. Nathanael Browning finished 5th in the 500m coming off a week of illness having missed a couple days of training.

At 1000 meters, Invaders newcomer Drake Sterling bumped up his status on the team roster with a team record 2:24.14 (video link) in his inaugural Invaders outing while finishing 2nd in his race. James "Jimmy" O'Brien, 4th at the 2011 USA Indoor National Championships 800, finished in a PR 2:24.92 with his 5th place finish and he was followed closely by another newcomer to the Invaders roster, Jason Springer, also posting a PR of 2:25.50.  Juan Carrillo finished 10th having battled a soft tissue foot injury for the past week.

Coach Greg Harger said, "This was a solid initial outing for several of the guys as 4 of 6 athletes posted Personal Records". Harger added, "IU Track & Field always hosts well run meets and this lower key meet is a perfect place to get our competitive heads clear from the holiday season before ramping things up in the next couple of weeks for USA National Championship qualification efforts".

The Indiana Invaders, a not-for-profit organization competing at USA National Championships since 1999, provide a resident-based, athlete-centered support system based in Indianapolis, Indiana.