DICKINSON, N.D. -- The Bellevue University distance track squad concluded their 2025 outdoor campaign at Thursday and Friday's final North Star Athletic Association Championship hosted by Dickinson State University. The Bruins collected two outdoor titles, two additional individual all-conference awards, and two relay runner-up finishes while establishing three school records in the process. Seven of the eight Bruin men who competed walked away with at least one all-conference honor (top three individual, top two relay).
Thursday's events began with the first of two outdoor championships claimed by Bruin newcomer Alvin Keter. On Thursday, Keter batted warm temperatures and gusty winds to easily run away with the 10,000-meter title. His time of 33:00.12 was over a minute ahead of the second-place finisher. The afternoon saw the Bruins produce a school record and runner-up finish in the 4 x 800-meter relay. In a result seen several times this season, the team would fall just a second short of the NAIA qualifying standard, running to a school record 7:45.29, taking six seconds from the previous record and moving to No.30 on the NAIA list. That team included Ronald Kipyegon, Luis Casallas Vega, Xavier Mallow, and Richard Marcoux.
On Friday, the Bruin women were represented by Alicia Rivera Camargo, who ran to a fourth-place finish in the 1500-meter event as she recorded a season best of 5:19.52. For the men, Robbie Siford was tenth in 4:27.06 while Alejandro Corona Martinez was just off a season best in 4:43.13.
At 800 meters, Ronald Kipyegon and Dakota State's Nolan Slominski battled stride for stride as they have all season, with Slominski taking the outdoor title (Kipyegon won indoors). Kipyegon's time of 1:53.05 was just shy of the NAIA standard. Also producing great races for the Bruins were Marcoux, who placed fourth in a personal best 1:54.13, and Luis Casallas Vega, who was sixth in 1:56.93.
Keter returned to the track in the 5,000-meter run and won his second title, while teammate Jose Lara Flores also climbed the all-conference podium with a third-place finish. Keter's time of 15:09.67 was a new school record while Lara Flores crossed in 15:49.18 for third. Two places back in fifth was Xavier Mallow, who recorded 16:31.87. In the women's 5,000, Alicia Rivera Camargo ran to a tenth-place finish in 21:22.17.
The meet's final event was the 4 x 400 meter relay, an event not previously contested by a Bruin squad. Their first attempt was a highly successful one as they ran to a runner-up finish after a spirited race with Dakota State. Luis Casallas Vega got the Bruins off to a good start, Marcoux kept pace through two laps, Kipyegon put the Bruins temporarily into the lead, and Siford's huge effort on the anchor leg came up just short. Their school record time is now 3:25.33.
The Bruin men finished fifth in the five-team field, scoring 62 points and just eleven behind fourth-place Valley City State University. It was an outstanding showing for a distance group with entries in only six of the twenty-two events. The Bruin women scored five points.
Alicia Rivera Camargo and Robbie Siford were awarded NSAA Champions of Character by Commissioner Roger Ternes.
Head Coach Craig Christians: "This week's championship was a great culmination to a year that saw our program take a big step forward. From our conference cross country championship to the times we are running on the track, we're just so much better, and I know Coach Musiel and I are excited about our future. We came so close to qualifying a couple of our relays for nationals, and the motivation to do that next year is strong. We lose just Riichard from the guys who ran here this week, and he's had such a huge impact on everything we've accomplished."
