ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of Idaho track and field 4x400m relay team broke a 12-year school record Saturday at the Western Athletic Conference Championships.

The quartet of junior Karlene Hurrel, senior Lauren Schaffer, senior Keli Hall and senior Liga Velvere ran a time of 3:41.57 breaking the previous school record of 3:43.48 from the 2001 season.

Senior Barry Britt won the 3000m with a time of 8:29.85 to give him two titles for the weekend. He was honored with WAC Track Performer of The Year and The WAC High Point Award. He becomes the first Idaho man to win both the 3000m and 5000m at a single conference meet.

 “Breaking this record is goal we have had for the entire season,” Idaho director of track and field Wayne Phipps said. “The girls ran an amazing race, and it was great to break the record at a conference meet.”

The Vandal men finished the conference meet in fifth place with 64 points, 21 points ahead of sixth-place Louisiana Tech, while the women finished in sixth with 71.50 points.

Leading the Vandal women was junior Hannah Kiser who won the 3000m for a third-consecutive year with a time of 9:40.35, earning her a First-Team All-WAC honor. Kiser beat her previous WAC record by five seconds. Also key was senior Liga Velvere who won the 800m also for a third consecutive year with a time of 2:08.53 and earned a First-Team All-WAC honor.

On the men’s side, sophomore Ben Ayesu-Attah ran a career-best time of 47.23 to win the 400m dash by more than a second. His time beats his previous leading WAC time of 47.37 and ranks 49^th-fastest in the NCAA so far this season.

In all the Vandals finished with 10 First-Team All-WAC honors and 10 Second-Team honors during the weekend.

“People seemed to be affected by the altitude, and we had some struggles with that,” Phipps said. “But we still had many outstanding performances during the conference meet.

“I think this was a good start for the entire track season, and we are looking forward to outdoor.”