LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Kamryn Comba broke the women's 800-meter program record, the Oredigger sprinters shined in the 100m dash, and Montana Tech's track & field teams enjoyed a successful start to their California roadtrip Thursday and Friday. 

Comba got things started Thursday at the Leopard Invitational in La Verne, and she did so in record-breaking fashion. The senior raced the 800m in 2:14.88, besting Becca Richtman's Oredigger record set in 2022. It was the 21st-fastest time in the NAIA this season, and she finished sixth in the event. 

The Orediggers took that momentum into Friday's opening day of the Beach Invitational at Long Beach State. 

Zach Merrifield got things started in the men's open 100m dash, running a collegiate-best 10.82 to finish third. That time moved the junior to fourth on Montana Tech's all-time leaderboard in the event. 

Freshman Alayna Hurd raced to 11th in the women's 100m, her time of 12.44 putting her second all-time at Tech. Fellow freshmen Montannah Piar and Teresa Luisi finished right behind in 12th and 13th, respectively, also with top-10 all-time times. Piar leapt to sixth on the Tech leaderboard, and Luisi took over seventh. 

Junior Adam Schrader became the second man in program history to break the 50-second mark in the 400m dash. He finished sixth at 49.94. Konnor Gregerson also ran a personal-best in the event, finishing at 50.01 to move to third on Tech's all-time list. 

That group of Orediggers will remain in Long Beach for the second day of the Beach Invitational, while the rest of the team will hit the road for Helena to take part in Carroll's Trudnowski Open at Vigilante Stadium. 

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