It was a record-breaking day for graduate student cross country runner Julian Haessner, as he shattered UCA’s men’s 8k record for a second time this year at the cross country ASUN Conference championships Saturday, Oct. 29. 

Haessner broke the Bear’s record earlier in October with a time of 23:59.2, but leveled up his performance even further for the championship run with a time of 23:45.7, finishing in seventh of the 116 contestants.

In addition to breaking the record, Haessner was awarded First Team All-Conference in the ASUN Conference, topping off his victorious day. 

Haessner said, “I am very happy with the new record and it is amazing if you can re break your own record within 14 days again. This gives me a lot of self-confidence for the next races.”

Not far behind was Haessner’s twin brother, Phillip Haessner, who earned Third Team All-Conference and finished with a time of 24:11.3, breaking his personal record. Phillip secured 17th place in the 8k run. 

Senior Jared Touart also broke his personal record with a time 24:31.2, ringing in yet another improvement for the team. Touart finished in 29th place. 

Junior Thomas Cain finished with a time of 25:56.6 in 68th place, and junior Parker Jackson finished with a time of 25:58.9 in 70th place. 

Junior Christian Tamura placed 87th with a time of 26.44.9, followed by sophomore Bresner Austin in 91st finishing with a time of 26:58.2.

Wrapping up the men’s team, freshman Beau Melancon ran in his first ASUN conference championship, finishing 93rd with a time of 27:09.5, followed by sophomore Johnny Cordero who placed 99th with a time of 27:30.9.

The men’s cross country team finished in sixth place overall out of the 14 schools that participated.

Coach Josey Weaver complimented the team’s performance in a news release.

“I thought we raced really well upfront. With two all-conference performances from Julian and Philipp Haessner, a school record and the best race of the year for Jared Touart, our men were able to move up from last year by two spots,” Weaver said. ”The goal is always to keep progressing. As long as we keep improving our team performance year to year, then we will eventually get to where we want to be. The goal is a conference championship for both our men and women, that is our standard.”

In the women’s 5k race, Junior Sara Steimel led her team, finishing with a time of 17:48.9, placing her in 31st out of the 113 runners. Junior Anna Bommes finished with a time of 18:23.0 placing her in 59th. 

Sophomore Ali Nachtigal achieved a personal record with a time of 18:27.2, placing her in 61st and sophomore Emma Selph placed 79th with a time of 18:58.3.

Sophomore Jewel Baer broke her personal record with a time of 19:19.5, placing 85th. Right behind in 86th place, freshman Sequoya Prentice made her championship debut with a time of 19:25.0. Graduate student Kennedy Timmerman finished out the trio in 87th with a time of 19:42.4.

The women’s cross-country team placed 10th of the 14 schools that participated. 

In a news release, Weaver said, “We gained a lot of experience from this race. We definitely would have liked to place higher, but I do like the way we fought and raced when things weren’t going our way. We expect big things from this group in the years to come. We are lucky to return seven of the eight racers from today.”