Several Pirates chiseled time off of their events at the Northwest Bearcat Invite on Feb. 5.

The invite was the second meet since the start of the new year. For many athletes, the short indoor season gives them a chance to gauge their development before the outdoor season begins.

A major contributor for Park was Shelby Birmingham, a sophomore who competed in the women’s 200-meter dash, the 400 dash, as well as the 4×400 relay. Her best performance was her 200-meter time of 26.27 seconds, a season-best and the closest to her personal record of 25.96.

Birmingham set a new personal record with a 400-meter time of 1:01.35. Her previous 400 dash was nearly a year ago at the Central Methodist University open, with a time of 1:07.15.

Also on the women’s side was Bailey Turner, the reigning Heart of America long jump champion, who competed in both the long and triple jump. Turner landed an impressive second-place long jump of 5.39 meters and a sixth-place triple jump of 11.34 meters.

The women also ran their first 4×400 relay of the season. The team consisted of Birmingham, junior Jena Hahlbeck (reigning Heart of America 800-meter dash champion), freshman Faith Williams and senior Brittany Willis.

Head coach Brian Renshaw shared his vision for the season as a whole.

“What we’d like our team to do is improve from last year, stay focused on the big picture, and move forward,” Renshaw said. This is Renshaw’s 31st year as Park’s head coach.

On the men’s side, freshman Ethan Willmann ran his first 800-meter race of his collegiate career. Willmann clocked in at a time of 2:07.29.

Senior Nathan Straubel competed in his first meet since the end of the cross country season in November. He competed in the 5,000-meter where he clocked a time of 16:46.16.

The Pirates will now prepare for the indoor conference meets held on Feb. 18 and 19. It will give the athletes a smooth transition into the fast-approaching outdoor season.