ARLINGTON, Texas - Brissia Montalvo posted a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time in the steeplechase while sophomore Ashley Flores had solid performances in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs to lead Midwestern State at the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational Saturday at Movin' Maverick Stadium.
 
Montalvo clocked an 11:05.20 on the 3,000-meter course marked with 28 hurdle and seven water jumps as she hit the provisional time for the NCAA Division II Championship meet which will be held from May 24-26 at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colo.
 
"It was great weather with no wind," MSU coach Koby Styles said. "The plan was to just run 2,000 meters then drop out, but she was running under provisional pace so I told her to keep going. This was her first full steeple so even though we hit the provisional, we need to get a little faster."
 
Junior Melody Caldwell finished with a strong 12:34.30 also in her first full steeplechase competition.
 
Sophomore Ashley Flores narrowly missed hitting a provisional time of her own as she finished 10th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:40.78 ahead of teammates Janel Campbell and Michelle Krezonoski, who posted times of 4:54.12/25th and 4:57.80/30th, respectively.
 
"Ashley was aggressive from the start, but she just didn't have enough at the end," Styles said. "It was a 5-second PR in just her second 1,500 this season and the time is No. 1 for the conference right now."
 
Krezonoski's time was a 20-second improvement from the West Texas A&M Invitational while Campbell was just a second off of a PR.
 
Flores was just four seconds off of the provisional pace as she also had a strong showing the 5K where she took the bronze medal with an 18:06.02 while Kim Krezonoski finished 12th with a time of 19:00.00 and Cara Mack was 32nd with a 20:17.50.
 
"We just keep getting more fit as time goes by and we will be ready as we get closer to the conference meet," Styles said. "I was really pleased with the effort and we're excited. We're doing nothing getting our name and brand out there and running fast."
 
Montalvo will keep in the steeplechase at the Texas Relays next week in Austin while the full team returns to action at the ASU/David Noble Relays on April 5.