GAINESVILLE, FL. – Freshman Damaris Kibiwot made her presence known on the national stage with an impressive 3,000m race, and junior Grace Tiegs broke a 10-year-old record to highlight the second day of the 2025 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships for LC State on Friday.
Along with the triumphs of the day were near-misses with some Warriors coming up just short of goals or falling victim to officiating errors.
“Every parent understands the deep connection coaches have with their athletes. When you run a program like a family, every competition’s outcome feels personal,” coach Mike Collins said. “We share in their triumphs, and we feel their heartbreak just as deeply. Today was a mix of emotions, but there were more tears than celebrations as many of our Warriors fell just short of their goals. It’s a tough reality of sports, just as it is in family.
Kibiwot will compete in the final of the 3,000m after sprinting her way to a third-place finish in the second heat. In the middle of the back for a large portion of the race, the freshman from Kenya sprinted the final meters to earn one of the automatic qualifier spots in the final. She ran a time of 10:11.71.
Tiegs broke the school record in the 1,000m, set by Ariel Jensen in 2015, with a time of 3:00.16. The Nezperce, Idaho, native finished 14th overall in the field.
In her first event of the weekend, senior Sydnie Zywina put together a strong showing in the long jump. She advanced to the final and finished 10th overall with a leap of 5.70m. Zywina will compete in the triple jump, her strongest of the two jumps, on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. PT.
London Kirk ran a personal-best time of 1:20.76 in the 600m and bettered his third-place time in the LC State record book. The senior placed 15th in the field at nationals. Griffen Parsells was 10th in the 800m with a time of 1:52.40 and Kobe Wessels ran in the 3,000m and finished 19th (9:00.74).
In her first individual national race, Camille Ussher finished 17th in the mile with a time of 5:14.21. Emily Collins was 19th in the 600m (1:38.74).
“Some moments were especially difficult, with near-misses that made the outcomes even harder to accept,” Collins added. “But there were also bright spots. Damaris fought her way into the 3,000m final, and we’ll be cheering her on this Saturday. Grace set a school record in the 1,000m, coming agonizingly close to breaking the three-minute barrier for the first time. And there was frustration, too. Syd made the finals in the long jump, only to have her best mark of the day go unmeasured due to a miscommunication among officials, likely costing her All-American status. Despite the ups and downs, I know my Warriors are resilient. Tomorrow, we will be back out there, standing together, cheering for our family.”