Olivia Klaus continued her excellence as a runner in her red-shirt senior season by breaking the Eastern all-time record for best time in the 6k run.

Before the race, Klaus, said her goal was to crack the top 20 and the 22 minute mark.

Finishing 10th out of 222 at the Bradley Classic with a record-breaking time of 21:35 satisfies those goals, she said.

The 21:35 team beats the old record of 21:47 set by teammate Erika Ramos.

Klaus said what started out as a normal race turned into a dominant performance.

She hit record pace toward the middle of the race and eventually picked it up down the stretch.

“Coach (Erin) Howarth was telling me I was on record pace toward the mid to end of the race, so that was motivational,” the Eureka native said.

As good as Klaus is as a runner, she said she cares even more about how her team performs as a whole.

“It was a great day all around for our team, everyone was hitting personal bests and having awesome races,” Klaus said. “For me to get the record was awesome and meaningful because it makes me feel like my hard work is all paying off.”

This record seemed to be meant for Klaus since she transferred from Miami (Ohio) four years ago.

She already made the second team All-Ohio Valley Conference in her first season as a Panther.

Klaus has made the All-OVC first team in each of the last two seasons.

She also holds the sixth best time in Eastern history in the 5K.

“But I think seeing our team progress and run awesome was so much more important,” Klaus said. “The record was kind of like icing on the cake.”

The finish by Klaus and the Panthers comes at the end of the season, as they are getting hot at the right time, Klaus said, with the OVC Championship on Oct. 27.

“I think it’s just what we need going into the championship,” Klaus said. “Confidence in ourselves is what our team will succeed off of. The best is yet to come in our team.”

Holden Fuehne can be reached at 581-2812 or hjfuehne@eiu.edu.