Three DSU runners qualify for National Championships

Three Dakota State runners produced national qualifying times Sunday in the Rocky Mountain half-marathon meet in Montana which was a qualifying meet for the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in full marathon.

 Jacia Christiansen led the Trojans with a school record time of 1 hour, 27 minutes and 25 seconds to place second.  The previous half-marathon school record was set by Karen Mayfield in 1:29:13 in 2015.  Jada Anderson also posted a career best time of 1 hour, 27 minutes, 33 seconds to finish third for DSU.

Both Christiansen and Anderson qualified for the NAIA national meet.  Christiansen produced the national qualifying time for the third consecutive year, while Anderson hit the national qualifying time for the second straight year. 

Maxwell Cruse captured the men’s title after clocking a personal record time of 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 3 seconds for Dakota State.  His time is the seventh best time in the DSU men’s outdoor track & field school record book. As a result, Cruse qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in full marathon for the fifth straight year.

 The national outdoor track & field national meet is set for May 26-28 at Micky Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala.

In the meantime, Dakota State prepares for the outdoor track & field season opener on Friday as they compete in the Grand View (Iowa) Viking Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.