GAINESVILLE, Fla. The College of Idaho track and field team delivered a historic showing at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships, earning three All-America honors and setting multiple school records during competition at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center.
Freshman thrower Helene Rae led the way for the Yotes, placing fifth in the women's shot put with a school-record mark of 14.06 meters (46-1½). Rae's performance earned All-America honors and highlighted a strong debut season on the national stage.
Junior Keenan Blair added another All-America finish in the men's shot put, taking eighth place with a personal-record throw of 16.20 meters (53-1¾). Blair improved his best mark by 22 centimeters to advance to the finals and secure the podium finish.
Distance runner Julia Gilbert also earned All-America honors in the women's mile after a dramatic two-race performance. Entering the meet with a personal best of 5:08, Gilbert ran 5:01.46 in the preliminaries to narrowly qualify for the final before dropping more time in the championship race. The junior clocked a personal-best 4:55.81 (a thirteen second improvement across the two races) and surged past a competitor late to claim eighth place.
Junior Collin De Julio added a school record in the men's 3,000 meters, finishing ninth in 8:18.08. De Julio also competed in the mile preliminaries, finishing in 4:18.37, while teammate Oclan Ryan crossed shortly behind in 4:18.39.
The women's 4x800-meter relay team of Kiely Munson, Paiten Braseth, Kylee Quinton, and Josie Patton also set a school record in the preliminaries, posting a time of 9:11.53, nearly 10 seconds faster than the mark the Yotes ran to qualify for nationals two weeks earlier.
Junior Kylee Quinton finished 12th in the women's 800-meter preliminaries with a time of 2:16.49.
In the field events, sophomore Kiriann Johnson cleared 3.40 meters (11-1¾) in the pole vault to place 22nd, becoming the first pole vaulter in program history to clear a bar at the NAIA national championships.
The performances capped a strong national meet for the Yotes, highlighted by three All-America finishes, multiple personal bests and several record-setting efforts.
