| Senior Larry Brooks |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - All-American Larry Brooks' fantastic senior campaign continued on Saturday night when he raced to a school-record 1:48.44 in the 800 meters at the Oxy Invite in Los Angeles. It is the seventh-fastest NCAA Division I mark and 13th-best by aUnited States runner this season and also met the USA Outdoor Track& Field Championships qualifying standard (1:48.50).
Running in a race that featured several professionals, including two-time defending United States Outdoor Champion Khadevis Robinson, Brooks broke Sean Groetsch's 12-year-old mark of 1:48.68 set during the 1995 campaign.
"Larry did a fantastic job tonight against a very tough field of professional athletes," assistant coach Scott Slade, who accompanied Brooks to the meet, said following the race. "We both are very excited about the way he ran and this is a great stepping stone for the regional meet in two weeks."
It was just a week ago that the Stafford native won his third Southland Conference Championship in the last four seasons and that came on the heels of an indoor season that saw him win the SLC Indoor crown and later earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.
Brooks and his Roadrunners teammates return to action on May 25-26 when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the NCAA MIdwest Regional.