Submitted by The Evergreen State College
Izabelle Trefts (Jr.) of The Evergreen State College qualified for the 2025 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships while winning the women’s 5,000-meter race walk in 23:01.80 at the Nancy & Norm Berney Classic, hosted by Corban University on Saturday, April 26. Trefts recorded the second-fastest 5,000-meter time in college race walk history.
Trefts will compete in the 5,000-meter race walk during the 2025 NAIA Championships, set for May 21-23 in Marion, Indiana. She will participate at the USA Championships in the 20-kilometer race walk on August 2. The USA Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
“Izabelle continues to amaze us!” said Evergreen Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Katie Burnett. “She is continuing to build on her indoor 3,000-meter fitness, and we are so excited to see her represent the program at the NAIA and USA outdoor championships.”
“We are incredibly excited about Izabelle’s performance today,” added Evergreen Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Joel Pearson. “Not only qualifying NAIA and USA nationals, but posting the second fastest time in college history really shows how much her hard work and dedication is paying off!”
On the college all-time list, Trefts trails only Olivia Lundman, an Olympian and a senior at the University of British Columbia (Canada). Lundman holds the NAIA record at 21:55.86.
Burnett, competing unattached, took second place in the women’s 5,000-meter race walk on Saturday at Corban. She registered a time of 23:13.25.
Rowan Hicks (So.) from Evergreen took second place in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. His time of 10:32.34 qualified him for the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships, scheduled for May 9-10 at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. Evan Williams (Jr.) placed third in the steeplechase in 10:32.34 for the Geoducks. In the men’s 1,500-meter run, Jaydon Blackburn (So.)set a personal record of 4:08.71 and earned third place.
Luis Esquivel (Fr.) achieved third place in the men’s 5,000-meter run for the Geoducks at 15:57.24. Max Baeder (So.) placed fourth at 16:14.82. The winner of the men’s 5,000 was Kai Miles from Oregon Tech with a time of 15:51.45.
The Geoducks completed the men’s 4 x 400-meter relay in 3:53.40. Competing on the relay unit were Hicks, Baeder, Williams, and Blackburn.
Abigail Strickland (Sr.) was second in the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 16.78 seconds. Kayla Morgan from Corban won the women’s 100 hurdles in 15.94 seconds. Strickland earned a time of 1:12.90 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
Evergreen’s Corona Parker (Sr.) placed second in the women’s high jump. She cleared a top height of 1.62 meters (5′ 3.75″).
Two Geoducks grabbed fourth place in women’s field events. Strickland was fourth in the hammer throw with a top distance of 37.20 meters (122′ 0″). Jalyn Sackrider (Sr.) was fourth in the discus throw with a season-best mark of 37.80 meters (124′ 0″).
Paul Stewart (So.) registered a top throw of 38.52 meters (126′ 5″) in the men’s hammer throw. He placed fourth overall. Jonathan Van Pelt (Fr.) was fifth in the men’s pole vault at 3.56 meters (11′ 8″) and produced a top distance of 5.89 meters (19′ 4″) in the men’s long jump.
“I’m super proud of the team today!” Pearson commented. “There were lots of personal bests, great performances, and top three placers. I was really excited to see them perform well.”
