After being crammed on short tracks the last couple of months, the distance athletes had a chance to stretch their legs and compete in some true distance events at the Stanford Relays in Palo Alto, Calif.

Redshirt sophomore Abdi Hassan showed he could transition from indoor to outdoor without breaking his stride. Hassan finished fourth overall and was first of the collegiate athletes in the men’s 1500-meter run with a time of 3:44.

For the women, senior Maggie Callahan and sophomore Hannah Moen ran together in the first heat of the women’s steeplechase, their main outdoor event. Callahan ran a 10:25 and came in sixth place, good enough for the third-best time in Arizona history.

“”I was a little bit more nervous for it because it’s the one I want to do the best in,”” Callahan said. “”I was nervous because my training has been off and on with my sore knee.

“”It’s a huge confidence booster to go out and get a PR (personal record) after a couple of weeks of doubtful training.””

While Callahan set a new personal record, her teammate Moen felt she could have done better.  Moen ran a time of 10:46 and came in 12th place in the first heat of the steeplechase.

“”I wasn’t ready to race mentally, my mind was worried about other stuff and I wish I had handled it better,”” Moen said.

She feels the Jim Click Invitational should be a better meet for her.

“”I’m not as worried because I know it’s a long season. We have the Jim Click coming up and I feel I can get ready for this one and do a lot better,”” Moen said.

Her main goal for the season is improvement.

“”I had a really crummy cross country season and indoor was a lot better,”” Moen said, “”so I’m excited to see what I can do outdoors.””