MADISON, S.D. -- The two-day North Star Athletic Association's outdoor track and field championship concluded Friday, with the Bruins adding three individual titles, two runner-up medals, and two more new school records. The meet was held at Dakota State's brand new Dan Beacom track facility with warm temperatures but accompanying strong winds that slowed times in the distance events. Despite the conditions, the Bruins continued to re-write their all-time records.
Thursday's meet saw Bruin competitors in just two events: the men's 4 by 800-meter relay and the women's 10,000-meter run. In the 4x8, the Bruin team composed of Saba Khvichava, Griffin Kipchumba, Robbie Siford, and Richard Marcoux ran to a school record, crossing the line in the third spot in 8:36.49. Madison Nelson continued her distance dominance later in the 10,000 meters as she won for the third consecutive year. Her time of 39:04.57 was an NSAA championship meet record despite the winds, breaking her own mark from 2022.
Day two began with even stronger winds and opened with the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bruin men Collin Kotz and Saba Khvichava got the squad off to a great start as they swept the top two podium positions. It was Kotz's second conference championship in the event, having won in 2022. Kotz ran 10:09.74 while Khvichava was ten seconds back at 10:20.98. In the men's 800-meter run, Griffin Kipchumba and Robbie Siford finished in ninth and thirteenth with times of 2:07.18 and 2:15.20, respectively.
In the men's 1500-meter run, Richard Marcoux ran an outstanding race given the windy conditions as he lowered his own personal best and school record, charging home to grab the runner-up spot in 4:03.26.
The final event with Bruin competitors was the 5,000-meter run with the wind again greatly slowing times and turning the races into highly tactical affairs. As she did in the 10K, Madison Nelson won her third consecutive championship in the 5,000, pulling away from the field after a pedestrian first half of the race. She would go on to finish unchallenged in 20:18.91. Teammate Alicia Rivera Camargo also scored for the Bruins with her eighth-place finish in 21:15.32.
The Bruins brought home five NSAA all-conference medals (top 3 individuals, top 2 relays). The men had their best showing at an outdoor championship, scoring 37 team points as they finished sixth. Dakota State captured the men's team title for the fifth straight year, while the Dickinson State women took home their seventh consecutive title.
Alicia Rivera Camargo and Collin Kotz were recognized as Champions of Character for the Bruins in a medal presentation on Friday.
Head Coach Craig Christians: "I was proud of how our athletes represented us today. Every person on our team contributed team points (top eight scores), which is outstanding. I felt bad that the conditions made running fast times all but impossible today because I knew we were ready for more personal bests. Our outdoor season was very successful and finished on a high note. Now we'll take a little break and start thinking about cross country."
