Garden City Sets the Pace with Wins, Records at Grizzly Invitational

Photo by: Adam Shrimplin/Garden City Athletics

El Dorado, KS – Garden City Community College turned in a record-setting weekend on the track, highlighted by multiple school records, national qualifiers, and event victories at the Grizzly Invitational hosted by Butler Community College on Friday.

Competing in the distance carnival portion of the meet, the Broncbusters delivered standout performances across the board, led by a dominant showing from Meryeme Mai. Mai shattered her own school record in the 5,000 meters by more than a minute, clocking a personal-best time of 17:01.89 to win the event.

On the men's side, Elias Mebitil-Libert matched that success with a record-breaking performance of his own, setting a new school mark in the 5,000 meters at 14:18.51 while also securing a first-place finish.

Reid Harvey-McKean added a national qualifying mark in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing fifth with a time of 11:39.92.

The Broncbusters saw continued success in the middle-distance events, as Daniel Aboagye broke his own school record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:52.27 to place second. Aboagye also turned in a runner-up finish in a deep 800-meter field, clocking 1:52.21 against 91 competitors.

Several other Broncbusters recorded personal-best performances. Marius Delchard ran 3:59.51 in the 1,500 meters to place eighth, while Andreas Laursen posted a personal best of 4:03.23 in the same event and later added a ninth-place finish in the 800 meters at 1:53.99.

In the 800 meters, Carson Schmidt (2:01.94) and Alex Deloach (2:11.87) each recorded personal-best times.

Garden City also saw strong performances in the 5,000 meters, where Maritza Romero posted a personal best of 21:22.74 and Umahan Sahin made her outdoor collegiate debut with a time of 20:08.42. On the men's side, Brayan Herrera-Ramirez made his collegiate debut in the 5,000 meters, finishing in 15:54.46.

Additional contributions came from Landen Leonard, who made his collegiate debut in the 1,500 meters (4:05.74).

Garden City's strong showing at Butler highlighted a weekend filled with progress and momentum, as the Broncbusters continue to build toward the postseason with multiple national-level marks and record-breaking performances.

Next up: The Broncbusters will travel to compete at the 2026 Coyote Classic, hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University, April 17–18.