Three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association distance runners raced to All-America accolades at the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships March 8-9 at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston, Mass.
Calvin's Katie Diekema, Trine's Evonne Bultemeyer, and Albion's Cassie Vince all finished in the top five in their respective distance races to reach All-America status.
Calvin's Katie Diekema had the top qualifying time in the 1-mile, posting a time of 5:01.65 in the prelims. Trine's Evonne Bultemeyer was second in her qualifying heat with a time of 5:03.34, fourth-fastest on Friday. In Saturday's final that featured two individuals breaking the NCAA Indoor Championship record for a banked track, Diekema placed third (4:52.16) with Bultemeyer fourth (4:53.48) as both garnered All-America honors.
In the 5,000m final on Friday, Albion's Cassie Vince led the field for the first 10 minutes of the race before finishing fifth with a time of 16:48.92 to gather All-America accolades.
The MIAA featured two first-year competitors in the shot put, with Olivet's Lillian Albaugh finishing 15th nationally in Albaugh's collegiate debut on the national stage with a top mark of 12.95m. Albion's ShaQuoria Thompson finished 17th in the first-ever NCAA Championship appearance for the first-year student-athlete, hitting 12.63m.
Williams edged Washington-St. Louis for the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track and Field team championship. Calvin's six points tied for 38th place, while Trine tallied five points to tie for 43rd overall. Albion's four points ranked tied for 51st place.
2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship results
MIAA Women's Track & Field NCAA Participants
1-Mile Run - Katie Diekema, Calvin - 3rd in final (4:52.16); 1st in prelims (5:01.65) | Calvin recap
1-Mile Run - Evonne Bultemeyer, Trine - 4th in final (4:53.48); 4th in prelims (5:03.34) | Trine recap
5,000m Run - Cassie Vince, Albion - 5th in final (16:48.92) | Albion recap
Shot Put - ShaQuoria Thompson, Albion - 17th in prelims (12.63m) | Albion recap
Shot Put - Lillian Albaugh, Olivet - 15th in prelims (12.95m) | Olivet recap
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