MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Fiona Smith won her sixth national title Thursday night, and the most decorated athlete in College of Saint Benedict history accomplished a first in the process.
The senior finished first in the women's 10,000-meter run in a facility-record time of 34 minutes, 27.32 seconds during competition at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on a warm and humid night at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
That marked the first outdoor track and field national title for Smith, as well as the first in program history.
It's also the sixth national championship in school history. The previous five also belong to Smith, who captured the women's 3,000 and 5,000 indoor titles the past two seasons and the NCAA DIII Division III cross country title last fall.
In a dominating performance Thursday, she finished with a 27-second margin over Grace Richardson of New York University, who clocked in at 34:55.05.
CSB track and field head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue was exceptionally proud of Smith.
"I am so proud of how Fiona executed her race today. She stayed patient early on and then made a decisive move to lead to her national title. It was a perfect race on a hot and humid day," she said. "We knew with the 10K in Myrtle Beach, it was going to be very warm, very humid, and going into it we weren't going to be going for time, we were going for the win and run smart and our plan was to sit back and then make the move. So we're really happy with how she raced."
Now a 15-time All-American, Smith becomes the first 10,000-meter champion at CSB and the eighth in MIAC history - the first since Kelly Copps of St. Thomas won it in 1995.
Additionally, she is one of five in MIAC history to win at least five individual national track and field titles, joining Carolyn Ross – Augsburg, 1988-89; Julia Kirtland, Macalester, 1984-87; Lisa Keolfgen, St. Thomas, 1985-86; and Kelly Copps, St. Thomas, 1993-95.
Add in her cross country title in the fall of 2023, and she is one of three in MIAC history to capture six or more national DIII individual titles (Julia Kirtland, eight titles, 1984-87; Kelly Copps, six titles, 1993-95).
Smith had the top-ranked time coming into the race (32:57.28), which she clocked at the Stanford Invitational on March 29. That performance shattered school and MIAC record and ranks as the second best all-time.
But Thursday, in very difficult conditions, she put together a national championship effort with over 80 percent humidity and broke the facility mark of Lauren Tinkler of South Alabama (34:36.61) on May 11, 2023. In Thursday's race, Smith opened up a five-second lead after 16 laps, taking over control of the race with 1:19.15 lap at the 6,800-meter mark (23:25.86). In the next lap, she extended the mark to nine seconds, and by the 8,800-meter mark, she had an 18-second margin with a 1:22.83 lap and a 30:14.66 time.
Smith noted the difficult conditions but she was very pleased with how everything worked out in winning her first outdoor title.
"It was a really hot and humid night out here so kind of tough conditions to race a 10K but overall my body feels decent," said Smith, originally of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. "It (body) is a little sore and I need to get hydrated but really happy and really grateful I was able to come away with a title tonight," she said.
As for her strategy, Smith took a cue from her race in the 5K at indoor nationals earlier this season.
"Coming into this after the indoor 5K (at nationals) and knowing the conditions, I just wanted to kind of relax the first half and then kind of try to drop a fast lap and drop the field. In the race at the 5K level, I wasn't ready to make the move - when I make it, it has to be hard. Then, I just waited quite a bit longer and with two miles to go made the decision to separate from the field," added Smith, who will run the final race of her career at Saint Benedict when she competes in the 5,000-meters at 6 p.m. (CDT) Saturday (May 25). Click here to watch the 5K race. She is also the top seed in that race at 15:53.27, a time she clocked at the Drake Relays. Smith's clocking ranks fourth all-time in DIII history.
As for the 5K on Saturday, Smith will rest and hydrate and try to focus on her final race at the NCAA DIII level.
"I've got all day tomorrow, so it's obviously kinda late right now at 10:30 p.m., but get some food, get some hydration, ice bath tonight, then get some sleep," said Smith. "Nice easy jog tomorrow, more hydration, more good food, another ice bath, and good (night) sleep and get ready for Saturday. Just try to survive on Saturday."
As for that program-first 10K titles, Balder-Lanoue noted that each championship is special in its own way. And, today was another of those rare but special moments."
"Every title is so special. Every one of them is a different experience but ths one was extra special with it being the first outdoor one. And, her just going in with a plan and executing it brilliantly. She feels really good about how things went today," said Balder-Lanoue.
A mathematics major and Hispanic studies and computer science major with a 4.0 GPA, the back-to-back USTFCCCA North Region Track Athlete of the Year, will compete at DI North Carolina State next year, using the final year of eligibility the NCAA granted student-athletes due to COVID-19.
A year ago, she was second in the 10K in a time of 33:05.17, which would have set a championship record. It was then the third-fastest in DIII history. In 2022, she ran 35:24.97 - finishing fourth in the 10K for All-American honors. She now has finished first or second in the last eight championship races she has competed in at NCAA DIII Championships.
Also at the NCAA DIII Outdoor Championship Thursday, CSB sophomore Jaylyn Ahlberg tied for 18th in the pole vault by going 3.56 meters (11-feet-8). She wrapped up a tremendous first season in which she won MIAC pole vault championships both indoors and outdoors. Ahlberg earned her first outdoor pole vault title at the MIAC Championships by matching her outdoor best of 3.71M (12-02), a mark which ranks third all-time at CSB. She also won the indoor MIAC Championship with a career-best vault of 3.76m –(12-4.25), a mark that ranks second all-time in CSB program history. Ahlberg finished the year with nine individual pole vault titles.
This spring, Smith was named the MIAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year for the first time in program history. A three-time MIAC Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and a three-time cross country MIAC Athlete of the Year, she was honored after winning the rare triple of the 1,500-meter, 5,000-meters and 10,000 meters at the MIAC Championship on May 10-11 in St. Paul. In the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs, she established conference championship records.
Smith is the first-ever at CSB to earn MIAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honors after repeating with wins in the three distance events. With victories in May 10 at the MIAC Championships in the 1,500-meters and 10,000-meters, she wrapped up her career with nine individual outdoor titles and 15 individual titles overall. Including relays, she earned 20 All-MIAC career honors. She broke the conference championship record in the 1,500-meter run in 4.28.55, which broke the 15-year-old record of Marie Borner of Bethel in 2009. Later that night, she broke a 41-year-old championship record in the 10,000-meters by clocking 34:15.01 and surpassing the mark of Debbie Thometz of the University of St. Thomas, who had a 34:22.58 in 1983.
In her career, Smith, who has 29 All-MIAC Athlete of the Week and six USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honors, has totaled 71 career wins in track and field and cross country.
