SALEM, Ore. - Midwestern State senior Brissia Montalvo displayed her grit Saturday by battling through a foot injury a foot injury to post a personal best time in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the West Coast Invitational at Charles Bowles Track on the campus of Willamette University.
 
"She's been having foot issues," MSU coach Koby Styles said. "As soon as she hit the first water barrier, it was clearly bothering her as she was limping the rest of the way. She gutted it out and ran a tough race."
 
The El Paso native posted a time of 10:41.04 to finish third in the race while posting the 15th best time in NCAA Division II with one day of last chance meets remaining.
 
The time bettered her previous best of 10:55.33 set at the 33rd Sun Angel Classic on April 5 in Tempe, Ariz.
 
"She lost so much ground on every water jump and had to work that much harder between jumps to keep up the pace," Styles said. "The pace was hectic and people were falling back but she stayed with the lead pack. She didn't want this to be her last race."

Professional Carrie Dimoff of Bowerman Athletic Club set a track record with a time of 9:59.72 followed by BYU's Lisa Marie Drury who edged Montalvo with a time of 10:38.33.
 
The time fell just shy of the 10:35.00 automatic qualifying time, but is the second fastest provisional time this season.
 
The field for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be announced Monday. The meet is set for May 24-26 at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colo.
 
"This was a great day to run track," Styles said. "We came here to run fast and that's just what she did. I'm very proud of her."

West Coast Invitational

3,000-Meter Steeplechase

PL	Athlete	Team	Final
1	Dimoff, Carrie	Bowerman AC	9:59.72
2	Drury, Lisa Marie	BYU	10:38.33
3	Montalvo, Brissia	Midwestern State	10:41.04
4	Nelson, Andrea	BYU	10:56.09
5	Freeby, Michaela	Willamette	10:57.44
6	Bergam, Lauren	Gonzaga	10:59.17
7	Redd, Jennica	BYU	11:08.56
8	Venable, Sally	Willamette	11:30.05
9	Ulland, Kailey	San Francisco	11:51.22
	Spencer, Katie	Chico State	DNS
	McSweeney, Sarah	Willamette	DNF