Findlay, OH — Goshen head track and field coach Rick Clark knew he was getting a talented athlete when he signed Abri Houser to a letter of intent last May.

What he might not have known was that he was getting an impatient star as well.

Houser — in just her first meet as a college athlete – broke the Goshen College indoor record in the 55-meter hurdles at Saturday’s University of Findlay Invitational, qualifying for NAIA national competition as well in a time of :08.72. Houser’s mark replaced a clip of 9:54 set by both Tina Miller (1996) and Erin Williams (2004), while finishing her tied for sixth at the NCAA Division II-hosted event.

“Abri successfully worked through the nerves of her first collegiate meet with an impressive performance in the hurdles, earning a spot into the finals of the 55-meter event and then hitting a time which tied for sixth place overall,” Clark said following the meet. “Her efforts resulted in a new school record and a provisional qualifying mark for indoor nationals. Obviously, it was a great first meet for Abri.”

Houser was bolstered by another program record being shattered — this one in the distance medley relay — as senior Rachel Yantzi teamed with junior All-American Petrana Petkova and freshmen Laura Harnish and Rachel Versluis to record a time of 12:42.45, nearly two full minutes off the old program mark. The Leafs’ foursome finished a remarkable third overall at the event, while erasing the old program mark of 14:35.54 (set in 1998) from the record books. The time was also good enough to eclipse an automatic berth for NAIA national competition, giving Clark punched tickets to a total of three national events — both male and female — after just two meets.

“The distance medley team really had an outstanding performance,” Clark said. “By mixing two veterans with two newcomers we were able to run to a third-place finish which easily knocked off the previous school record.”

Junior Laura Herr ran a competitive time of 19:28.53 in the 5,000-meter run, while sophomore Cally Feldman recorded a distance of 34 feet, 4.25 inches in the weight throw. No team scores were kept in the meet. Over 1,200 athletes from 46 schools participated. For a complete list of events and individual results, click here.

“This was a very pleasing meet for us,” Clark said. “The fact that we had three new school records (junior Jason Young set one on the men’s side) and two national qualifying marks made it a very worthwhile outing. It offers a great deal of excitement for what may be in store for the upcoming season.”

Goshen will next compete in the Taylor University Invitational on Saturday.