April recap: D3 past & present
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The middle of April has been a bustling time for the D3 community–D3 Glory Days successfully hosted our first Boston shakeout run, where over 40 D3 alums came together ahead of the 130th Boston Marathon. Our co-founder, Stu, bonked his way to a 2:54:11 and continues to boast that he is the only person on staff to have run Boston. And while those of us living our glory days were in the streets tapering for 26.2, current D3 athletes were setting records galore. So far this season, two national records have fallen in the men’s 1500m and women’s 100m hurdles, NYU’s Theo Udelson-Nee set a new freshman record in the men’s 5k, and Central College’s Kale Hobart set an all-conditions best in the decathlon across a blustery few days in Iowa. Here’s what’s happened in D3 so far this spring season.
Boston
The Boston Marathon is known for its electric crowds and iconic landmarks, but this year’s iteration was particularly special for racers for its rare and historic tailwind. Maybe it was the push from behind, or the roar from the crowd, or the advancements in training, shoe, and fueling technology, but this year’s Boston Marathon was fast. John Korir won in a new 2:01:52 course record, and the women’s field, led by Sharon Lokedi, had the deepest top-10 in history.
The D3 community was out in throngs, accomplishing everything from top-40 finishes, OTQs, and PRs to bucket-list checkoffs and making unforgettable memories with D3 friends. The top D3 finishers on both sides finished 37th overall: Johns Hopkins alum Insa Mannstadt led the way on the women’s side in 2:37:34, and St. Scholastica alum Lars Dewall finished in 2:12:30 in the men’s race.
Below, hear from a collection of this year’s D3 finishers on their experience running the 130th Boston Marathon.
2016 Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni Brooklyn Swantek (left) and Jamie Larsen (right) ran and crossed the finish line together in 3:18:39.
“We are both physical therapists now and ran the race together as a celebration of graduating 10 years ago. I’ve run Boston three times, and two of those times I have been able to run alongside college teammates which made the experience once in a lifetime.”
-Brooklyn Swantek, Nebraska Wesleyan University ‘16
2017 UW-River Falls alum Abby Fouts finished in 3:19:21.
“I’m a first time Boston Marathoner and the best I can describe Boston is an enjoyable challenge. The course is easy and fun–the first part is for you to enjoy it, and then it gets tough and that’s where you have to show the distance what you’re capable of. The race is so legendary; to be able to qualify and run on a course that women were restricted from for decades and be among the fastest women’s field they ever saw was awesome.”.
-Abby Fouts, UW-River Falls ‘17
2013 Oswego State alum Christina Sakowski finished in 3:08:21.
“This was my first Boston and I had put a lot of work into this training block and came away with a 9-minute PR! From start to finish, I had the biggest smile on my face (even through the hills! I was so excited to see what they were all about!). It was truly incredible to see a course I had heard so much about throughout my running career come to life. There were times I wished the race wouldn’t end. The experience was amazing. It left me so proud of how far I’ve come in my running and excited for what’s next! I am humbled to have experienced it. This is definitely a race experience I will never forget.”
-Christina Sakowski, Oswego State ‘13
2021 Wartburg alum Carina Collet (left) finished in 3:00:31.
“It was my first time racing at Boston & the crowd was electric! We couldn’t have asked for better weather or better fans. Truly a special race. Personally, I PRed and felt SO GOOD, but just missed breaking 3 hours. Still a win in my book.”
-Carina Collet, Wartburg ‘21
2021 Brockport State alum Humberto Wallace finished in 2:30:01, which was 332nd overall and top 300 in the male 18-39 age group.
“First time running Boston and PR’ed by 12 mins from 2:42:12 (NYC) I nearly ran the perfect race till the last two miles. Put yourself out there and give yourself a fighting chance; you can run the time you worked for!”
-Humberto Wallace, Brockport State ‘21
2022 St. Olaf alum Reuben Kosche finished in 2:25:12, which was 149th overall.
“My race went super well! 2:25:12 - lots of fun all around. Crazy crowds and energy for the entire duration of the race.”
-Reuben Kosche, St. Olaf ‘22
2022 Albion and 2023 Calvin alum Jayden VanMaurick finished in 2:49:49, two minutes off of a personal best and 576 places better than seeded. This was his first world major marathon.
“I actually ran into a good friend of mine, Caleb Billings, who ran at Adrian College, another Division 3 school in my conference and in my region, during my time as an athlete at Albion for undergrad and Calvin for grad school, in the middle of the race! We got to race with each other and work with one another for some of the miles throughout the marathon. It felt just like old times! He is pictured with me, in the zigzag jersey.
I’ll try to be back for another year to run Boston again in the future, but for now, the Chicago marathon is my focus, and punching my ticket to the New York marathon is the goal. With a productive build, staying healthy, and hopefully great weather, I can hopefully earn that qualifying time!”
-Jayden VanMaurick, Albion ‘22/Calvin ‘23
2014 Ohio Northern alum Jeffrey Denny finished in 2:33:35.
“I went out aggressive for a 2:27 marathon and paid dearly. Heartbreak hill still owns me.”
-Jeffrey Denny, Ohio Northern University ‘14
Current D3 national records fall
If you thought the indoor season saw a lot of shifts in the history books, the outdoor season is on pace to be just as historical. So far this season, athletes have set 24 men’s and 12 women’s top-10 all-time marks, with an additional four men’s and one women’s top-10 all-conditions best marks. 77 top-20 all-time marks hit the books—32 women’s marks and 45 men’s marks. April was a particularly memorable month for D3 record setters Aryianna Garceau of UMass Boston, Ryan Hagan of SUNY Geneseo, and NYU’s Theo Udelson-Nee.
Garceau and Hagan were the talk of the weekend after each set new national records at Conn College and Bucknell, respectively, less than two weeks into the month. Garceau’s wind-legal 13.40 lowered her previous national record of 13.54 by over a tenth of a second. Garceau has been highly consistent this year, kicking off the month with a windy 13.38, running 13.40 ten days later, and replicating her sub-13.50 performance again a week later with a 13.45.
Though it seems the three-time hurdle national champion cannot be caught, Garceau leads a deep women’s 100-meter hurdle field. Pacific’s Ally Hammond ran the No. 2 wind-legal time in D3 history with a 13.60, and Ithaca’s Rachel Larsen has also landed in the top 10 in history with a 13.76. These three athletes will all clash at nationals in just one month, so don’t be surprised if the women’s hurdle history book isn’t quite done with its 2026 makeover.
Hagan made history as the first athlete in history to dip under 3:40 in the men’s 1500 meters in-season and the second to do so all-time. Haverford’s Karl Paranya ran 3:39.84 after the NCAA regular season in July 1997. His 3:38.67 is the 22nd fastest time in the NCAA right now and is faster than all of D2. He currently holds a six-second lead in this event over indoor mile champion Jack Brown, whose 3:44.46 is No. 19 in D3 history.
Photo by Jen Reagan
The men’s 5k history book has been completely renovated in the past three years. 20 out of 26 sub-14 all-time marks outdoors have occurred since 2023, making sub-14 a new D3 standard that was once a rare occurrence. However, D3 has never seen a freshman run such times until NYU’s Theo Udelson-Nee. The 31st place XC All-American and third place indoor 5k All-American dropped a speedy 13:56.49 to set a new D3 freshman national record and become the first true freshman in D3 history to dip under the 14-minute barrier.
Udelson-Nee joins a deep list of names on this year’s descending order list. So far, five athletes including Udelson-Nee have dipped under 14 minutes, led by Cornell College’s Isaac vanWestrienen’s time of 13:53.13 from the end of March. Fellow freshman 5k podium finisher Anthony Clark of Johns Hopkins was an unfortunate DNF at the Virginia Challenge two weekends ago and does not have any marks on the board yet this season.
Windy would-be’s
In the outdoor track and field world, wind readings exist to regulate records, and sure, the wind aids performance in many cases, but sometimes it’s hard to differentiate an athlete’s best performance as “because of the wind” or simply “in the wind.”
Such was the case for UWL hurdle star Luke Schroeder, who is spattering his name into the D3 history books like a painter flicking paint onto a canvas– the droplets are landing everywhere. His 10.35 in the 100-meter dash is No. 11 all-time, and he’s No. 8 all-time in the 200-meter dash with a 20.78. This past weekend at the Drake Relays, Schroeder ran a wind-aided all-conditions No. 2 mark of 13.58 (+2.4) in the 110m hurdles, just 0.02 off of what would have been Rowan’s Jamir Brown’s national record in legal wind. In the final, Schroeder went on to run 13.68 against a 2.0 m/s headwind, the No. 2 best wind-legal hurdle time in D3 history. The wind in Iowa decided to throw all scenarios at Schroeder, and the result was nearly a national record.
Similarly to the women’s high hurdle field, the men’s high hurdle field is currently one of the deepest events in D3. Rowan duo Jason Agyemang and Kwaku Nkrumah ran matching No. 3 all-time marks of 13.72 at their mid-month home meet (Agyemang in the prelim and Nkrumah in the final). Not far behind, indoor hurdle champion Gunner Meyer of Central sits at No. 6 all-time in 13.79. Nebraska Wesleyan’s Eli Etherton and Eau Claire’s Blake Postler are currently No. 15 and No. 16 all-time, respectively, with their times of 13.94 and 13.99. Etherton was the first to cross the finish line in the indoor final but was issued an unfortunate DQ. All of the aforementioned athletes have a national hurdle title except for Schroeder and Postler. With Postler’s No. 6 all-time mark in the 400-meter hurdles and Schroeder’s No. 2 all-time 13.68 into a headwind, the hurdle spotlight may finally turn to the WIAC.
Speaking of the previously mentioned wind in Iowa, are people in Pella okay? Central College hosted the Dutch Spring Multi, where Central athlete Kale Hobart set PRs in four events to score an all-conditions best 7580 points in the decathlon. The reason this mark isn’t an outright national record is because Hobart’s long jump and 100-meter dash were assisted by wind readings of 6.1 m/s and 8.1 m/s, respectively. Though one of the higher wind readings to exist in the D3 record books, 8.1 m/s equates to about 18 mph, which the National Weather Service classifies as a “moderate breeze.” Still, despite the unfortunate coincidence of gusts during this performance, Hobart shows that he is rounding into form in the outdoor ten-event multi after finishing runner-up indoors to Jacob Balcome in the heptathlon.
As we head into May, the winds die down and the sun comes out, and before we know it, another championship will be upon us. The collegiate outdoor season is short, but it’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive yet.
D3 alumni news
UWL alum and sprints star Sam Blaskowski has gone international! In an African tour that spanned three races in three countries across four days, the 100-meter national record holder ran 10.21 in Kenya, 10.11 in Botswana, and 10.15 in South Africa.
Meanwhile, back in the states, Ramapo sprints alum Cheickna Traore raced at the National Training Center in Clermont, dropping a quick 10.16 in the 100-meter dash.
While we are on the topic of men’s D3 sprinting greats, Centre alum JP Vaught is getting married!
Former UWL sprinting standout Lauren Jarrett, now at Tennessee, ran two quick new PRs in the 100m and 200m dash at 11.06 and 23.39, respectively. Her 11.06 is No. 12 in D1.
Former Puget Sound athlete Alexander Rhodes, now at Washington, dipped under 45 seconds in the 400m for the first time at Mt. SAC, running 44.94. He’s ranked No. 5 in D1 with this time.
On the same weekend at Bryan Clay, Lynchburg graduate Tor Hotung-Davidsen, now at NAU, pulled off an impressive double, running 3:37.28 in the 1500m and a jaw-dropping 1:45.36 in the 800m. He currently ranks No. 8 in the 800m and No. 12 in the 1500m in D1 this season.