L to : Shandon Lystad, Lily Engelbrekt, Cassidy Brown, Sarah Estabrook
Eagle DMR Third in NAIA Final; Sine 14th in 5000m
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The NU Eagle women's distance medley relay team capped off a spectacular indoor season with a third place finish in the finals of the NAIA Indoor National Championships today in Tennessee. In a tightly contested final, the Eagles bettered their DMR time once again crossing the finish line in 12:00.93, running the second fastest time in NU school history.
From Coach Mark Mandi, "They ran a great race today and I'm really proud of their effort. Everyone chipped in and put us in a position to win. We were in the lead with 400m left in the race and Cassidy Brown did the best she could to hold the other teams off. Lily (Engelbrekt) led off, taking the lead just 200m in, and never relinquishing as she handed off to Shandon Lystad. That really set the tone as our women, from top to bottom, fought and fought each step of the race. I am extremely proud of how they represented God and our university!"
For Freshman Riley Sine, a 14th place finish in his first trip to the NAIA national meet is quite an accomplishment. Sine's event did not require semifinals heats, so today's race was the championship final. Riley ran a 15:45.39 for the 5k distance and was only one of three freshman to make the finals.
"It was a good experience for Riley to get to a championship style race," commented Coach Mandi. "Hopefully, this is one of many to come and he's committed to getting better. I'm very proud of him making it here and putting up a good fight the whole way through."