Alarcon and Cisneros Earn All-American Honors in Race Walk; Eagles 23rd at NAIA Championships
Yankton, SD Maria Alarcon and Nayeli Cisneros found themselves in a familiar place Friday morning: the starting line of a national championship final. A short time later they found themselves in another familiar place as they strode to the medal stand to receive their All-American awards. Alarcon, who has never finished lower than third at NAIA Nationals, rode a strong finish to another third-place finish in the 3,000-meter race walk (15:16.33). Cisneros finished two places back in 15:46.17 to claim fifth place. These are the fourth and fifth All-American awards earned by Alarcon and Cisneros. The Eagles' third competitor, freshman Beth Rodriguez, finished 13th in her national championship debut crossing the finish line in 18:09.70. Judson rode these three performances to a 23rd place team finish. This was Judson's fifth top 25 NAIA finish since 2018.
"This is a great day for Judson Track & Field," said Director of Track & Field Joel Popenfoose. "I am thankful for [Assistant Coach] Cam [Knudsen]'s work with our racewalkers and I am very happy for our women. They are hard workers and great competitors and well-deserving of these All American honors."
Judson concludes their week in South Dakota with freshman Blake Weiss' national debut in the men's 3,000-meter race walk tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
