Eight Spires Earn All-American Status at Nationals
The University of Saint Mary Men’s and Women’s Track and Field team was in Brookings, South Dakota, for the NAIA National Championships from March 2 – March 4. The women’s team wrapped up their season with the highest finish at the championships in team history, placing 30th and scoring 10 points, while the men’s finished in 18th place, scoring 14.6 points.
Men’s
The men’s team had a podium appearance from Liam Neidig in the 1000m as he finished in second place with a time of 2:25.70. Neidig also hit a PR in the prelims (2:25.65), which is the second fastest time in school history. Later, Neidig, Mark Noel, Robert Huebert, and Emad Bashir-Mohammed ran a 10:04.77 and took third place in the distance medley. Tony Kinser became the first field all-american in program history after reaching a mark of 2.01m in the high jump event. Bashir-Mohammed then finished 13th in the mile (4:15.59) and 14th in the 3000m (8:40.79), while Brendan Erwin placed a few spots ahead in 10th, running an 8:37.38. The Spires ended the weekend with five athletes being named All-Americans and Neidig capturing the achievement in two different events.
Women’s
The women’s team broke three different school records over the weekend. Alyssa Armendariz finished in seventh place in the 3000m with a time of 9:53.39, while Maddie Walter-Sherretts finished eighth in the mile (5:01.56) while recording a school record in the prelims (5:01.53). Armendariz also finished in fifth place in the 5000m, while Sherretts was a part of another broken school record in the distance medley relay prelims as she, Lexi Wardlow, Carlie Gregg, and Riley Hiebert finished with a time of 12:08.55, earning a 10th place finish.The final all-american for the Spires was Katherine Madsen who ran a 17:44.02 which was good enough to take sixth place. Reagan Hiebert took 11th place in the 5000m prelims as she hit a PR with a time of 17:32.04, the second-fastest time in school history.
Original source can be found here.
