RALEIGH, N.C. — 

United States Coast Guard Academy senior track athletes Paul Hobbs (Vacaville, Calif.) and Claire Semerod (Centennial, Colo.) made their outdoor debuts on Thursday and Friday at North Carolina State University's Raleigh Relays meet. The duo clocked a pair of personal best performances against fields of mostly NCAA Division I runners in their respective events.

Hobbs was the first of the pair to run, competing in the 5000 Meters on Thursday. He placed 192nd amongst 206 finishing runners with a time of 15:04.69, an improvement on his USCGA #5 standing. Semerod competed in the 1500 Meters on Friday and crossed the finish line in 4:35.77, placing 160th out  218 finishers. Her time was a new USCGA #2, her first appearance on the program leaderboard for the distance.

The rest of the Bears track & field program will be split between two meets on Saturday, March 28th. The team will send a group of throwers up to American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the Yellow Jacket Invite, while the rest will be making their season debuts in New Jersey at the Monmouth University Opener.