Madison Nelson earned All-American honors after finishing seventh in the half marathon at the NAIA Outdoor Track National Championships.
Posted: May 27, 2022
GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Bruin freshman Madison Nelson added the crowning achievement to her record-setting freshman year with an All-American finish at this morning's NAIA Half Marathon Championship. The Half Marathon is a part of the NAIA outdoor track and field championships held in Gulf Shores, Ala. All-American status is accorded to the top eight finishers in each event and Nelson secured that spot with her seventh-place showing, in just the second half marathon of her young career.
The 6:00 AM start provided temperatures in the low 70's but the humidity was still near 85% at the race start. The weather was indeed a factor throughout the race as several athletes struggled but despite not training for those conditions, Nelson seemed unaffected. At the seven-mile mark in the race, Nelson stood in 15th position and was running well. "I told her that she was about a minute out of an All-American spot" said Head Coach Craig Christians "and she did the rest." According to available time splits, only one runner ran a faster final five miles than Nelson and that was women's champion Taylor Ward of Life University. Nelson's time of 1:27:47 was nearly two minutes faster than her qualifying time run last December.
Nelson's year included these highlights:
- NSAA Cross Country Champion
- NAIA Cross Country National Qualifier
- NSAA 3,000 meter indoor track title and meet record
- NSAA 5,000 meter indoor track runner-up
- NSAA outdoor track champion at 5,000 and 10,000 meters
- NAIA All-American in the Half Marathon
"I'm out of words to describe her accomplishments," said Christians. "When she passed seven miles into the race, Coach Barbosa and I both knew that her chances of a top-eight finish were very real. That is the kind of tenacity and drive that she delivers time and again and all of that is done with the most unassuming and humble attitude. We are so proud of the way she represents Bellevue University and our program."
Nelson and the rest of the Bruin distance running squad will take a couple of weeks and then begin preparation for the cross country season when classes resume in August.
