MIAMI, Fla.- The Ave Maria University track teams began their 2024 seasons on Saturday, with the Gyrenes competing at the South Florida Pre-Season Showcase, held at Tropical Park in Miami. The Gyrenes, along with several other Sun Conference teams, competed in the event's open division, with team standings not recorded. Between male and female teams, the Gyrenes emerged with six gold medals, with several Gyrenes recording school records.

Caitlyn O'Brien, an NAIA Championships qualifier from last year, began her 2024 with a solid performance. The sophomore logged a jump of 5.04 meters to earn gold in the long jump, and earned silver in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing less than two tenths of a second behind the reigning Sun Conference champion from St. Thomas with a time of 9.41.

Another top performance came from freshman Clare Owen, who set a school record in the 600 meters, running the race in 1:43.35 to claim gold. Gold medals were also earned by Sofia Torres in the 800 meters (2:37.48) and Madison Thomas in the 3000 meters (10:49.06). Mackenzie Thomas was a silver medalist in the mile, while Rebecca Perona earned second place in the shot put.

Ave Maria's men added another four gold medals, with three coming in contested events. Adam Paga was the winner in the mile, crossing the finish line with a time of 4:22.10, more than 14 seconds faster than the nearest competitor. His brother, Samuel Paga, allowed the Gyrenes to sweep the 3000 meter races with a time of 9:11.57, which was more than 35 seconds better than the silver medalist.

Michael Long set another Ave Maria school record, winning the 800 meters in school record time of 1:53.04 on a windy course. Long's time ranked fifth in the nation early in the season, and was more than five seconds faster than silver medalist Roger Reyes of St. Thomas.

Saturday's event was the first of seven on the spring schedule for the Gyrene track teams, with the finale coming April 27 in the form of The Sun Conference Championships. AMU will return to the track February 10 with another event held at Tropical Park. Ave Maria will compete at the Superfly Athletics Classic on the tenth, marking the first of two February events. AMU will head to the Teon Elite Invitational in Miami Gardens to close out the month on February 24.