Emery, Biddle Cap Race-Walk Seasons With Top-11 National Finishes
GULF SHORES, Ala. — Freshman Siana Emery and junior Sawyer Biddle each came within three spots of All-American honors as Emery finished 10th in the women’s 5,000-meter race walk and Biddle took 11th in the men’s edition Friday evening at the NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium.
After a two-person lead group pulled away from the field early in the 3.11-mile women’s race, Emery and Cornerstone’s Bailey Brogan spent several laps trading the eighth and ninth spots before Brogan pulled away: Emery finished in 29 minutes, 14.86 seconds, making her the fourth freshman in the field.
Biddle completed the circuit in 26:40.85, taking second among juniors and fourth among upperclassmen while opening a lead of nearly 200 meters over the 12th-place walker at one point.
Judson’s Anali Cisneros won the women’s race in 24:09.51, breaking a four-year streak of Missouri Baptist champions in the event, while Anthony Peters of St. Ambrose took top honors among men in 21:01.81, more than a minute clear of the field. Spring Arbor freshman Anthony Gruttadauro was the lone Crossroads League athlete to top Goshen’s finishers in either race.
The finishes snap a 10-year streak of outdoor race walk All-Americans for GC, which had dated back to Tina Peters’ national title in the event (then 3,000 meters) in 2007. The first male All-American came four years later in the person of Jake GunderKline.
Goshen’s season concludes at 7 a.m. EDT (6 a.m. Gulf Shores time) on Saturday when seniors Ryan Smith and Isaiah Friesen compete in the marathon. Smith is seeded second and Friesen 65th in the 77-runner field.