Submitted by The Evergreen State College
Alauna Carstens (Jr.) from The Evergreen State College has qualified for the NAIA Marathon Championships, set for Sunday, December 8, 2024, in Sacramento, California. The NAIA Marathon will be held as part of the Cali International Marathon. Action is set to begin at 7 a.m. PST.
Carstens achieved the fastest overall qualifying time among women who earned berths in the championship marathon. She registered an impressive average time of 6:18 per mile during a pair of two-hour runs, 35 seconds faster than Madison Nelson from Bellevue University (Neb.) in second at 6:53 per mile. Dani Rivera of Cumberland University (Ky.) qualified with the third fastest time at 7:09 per mile.
Also competing at the NAIA Marathon Championships will be Evergreen men’s runners Jaydon Blackburn (So.) and Max Baeder (So.). Among the men’s runners who qualified in the marathon, Blackburn earned the third-fastest time and Baeder was ranked sixth.
Carstens has redshirted during the current cross country season but competed unattached. She placed second at the George Oja Invitational on Oct. 19 in 20:48 for a 6-kilometer run. She was third at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational in 17:11 for 5 kilometers on Oct. 5.
In 2023-24, Carstens received NAIA All-America honors in cross country and in the 5,000-meter run in track and field. She was 15th at the NAIA Cross Country Championships and placed seventh in the 5,000 at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
“I have been so inspired by the training and work volume Alauna has been putting into her training,” Evergreen Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Joel Pearson said. “Her attention to every detail leading into the fall, the two-hour time trials, and the marathon has been inspiring.”
The NAIA Marathon Championships will feature 48 runners in the women’s race and 52 runners in the men’s race.
“The marathon is no small undertaking, and seeing us have multiple athletes enthusiastically going for it is something special,” commented Evergreen Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Katie Burnett. “Their multiple, high-ranking qualifying marks show that Evergreen is the perfect place for distance running.”
