RESULTS

AUSTIN, Texas — The last time Luke Ramirez ran a 1,500-meter race, he was a freshman at the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Championships. That race went well – Ramirez broke his own freshman record with a time of 3:56.26 – but that was two years ago, and Ramirez has emerged as a reliable personal-best machine since then.
 
Thursday marked Ramirez's first chance to better that time, and the personal-best machine delivered once again, finishing in 3:51.04 at the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Ramirez ran a 58-second last lap, moving up to eighth in the field after starting the race conservatively.
 
Ramirez's time marked the fastest 1,500-meter by a Viking since 2004, when Mike Kebbe finished in 3:50.40. Ramirez slots in right behind Kebbe at sixth all-time at Portland State in the 1,500 meters after Thursday.
 
The 1,500-meter personal best follows a string of them for Ramirez since the Vikings came back from their pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Ramirez shaved 45 seconds off his 5,000-meter personal best less than two weeks ago at the OSU PNW Team Clash, where he won the event in 14:47.81. Ramirez also set a PB in the cross country 8k at the 2021 Big Sky Cross Country Winter Championships at the end of February despite running at over 4,000 feet of elevation.
 
Ramirez and the Vikings will next compete across two meets in Eugene, Ore., next weekend. A few Vikings will compete at the Hayward Premiere, hosted by the University of Oregon April 2-3, while the rest of the team competes at the NW Distance Jamboree at Lane Community College April 3.
 
Texas Relays
Mike A. Myers Stadium
Austin, Texas
March 25, 2021
 
Men's Results:
1,500m (Section B): 8. Luke Ramirez, 3:51.04.