MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—Sophomore Nick Yacoub (Sharon, Mass.) recorded both a meet and facility record in the men's 10,000 meters to highlight a strong opening day of competition for the Babson College men's and women's track & field teams at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational on Thursday. 

Yacoub led wire-to-wire and posted a time of 30:39.52 on the way to finishing first while setting a meet record and logging the fastest 10,000-meter time in the history of Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium. He came in first by almost 51 seconds and his new personal best ranks as the fifth fastest time in program history. 

Senior Alexandra Kirkpatrick (Middleborough, Mass.), the lone female to compete on Thursday night for the Beavers, had a strong performance in the 10,000 meters posting a time of 42:08.39 to finish fourth overall. She was among the top four at every split on the way to registering her best time since April 11 of last season. 

In addition to its competitors in the 10,000 meters, Babson sophomore Aithan Bezanson (Danvers, Mass.) began competition in the men's decathlon on Thursday afternoon.  He recorded runner-up finishes in both the high jump and shot put and sits in fourth place through five events with a score of 3,316 points. 

Bezanson set a new personal best of 40-feet, 3-2.25 inches in the shot put and matched the school record set back in 2018 by clearing 6-feet, 3.25-inches n the high jump on the way to a runner-up finish. He also came in sixth in both the 100-meter dash (11.55) and 400 meters (53.43), and placed 11th with a leap of 19-feet, 4.25-inches in the long jump. 

Babson begins competition on day two of the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational at 9 a.m. on Friday.