College of Saint Benedict senior Fiona Smith looks to defend her national titles in both the women’s 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs during competition at this weekend’s NCAA Division III indoor national track and field meet.
The competition is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Saint John’s University senior Kevin Arthur will also compete in the men’s 60-meter dash.
Smith brought home CSB’s first national title when she won the 5,000 in a time of 16:33.79 at last season’s national indoor meet, finishing almost seven seconds faster than the second-place finisher. She then added a title in the 3,000 the following day, crossing the line in a time of 9:25.62 and shattering the previous championship meet record.
She added a national title in cross country last fall, making her a three-time national champion and 12-time All-American across cross country and track and field.
Smith enters this season’s indoor national meet again ranked No. 1 in both of her events. Her time of 15:50.48 in the 5,000 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston last December is a Division III record. Her time of 9:23.40 in the 3,000 at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic on Feb. 9 ranks fourth all-time in Division III.
The women’s 5,000 is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (CST) Friday and the women’s 3,000 is scheduled to begin at 4:40 p.m. Saturday.
Arthur, who broke his own program record with a time of 6.78 seconds in the 60 at MSU-Mankato’s Maverick Invitational on Feb. 16, will compete in preliminary competition in the event beginning at 12:45 p.m. Friday. The final in the 60 is scheduled to begin at 2:35 p.m. Saturday.
Arthur was the 2022 and 2023 MIAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and has returned this season thanks to the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted all student-athletes as a result of COVID-19. He is already a two-time outdoor All-American (seventh place in the 100-meter dash in 2023 and as part of the fourth-place SJU 4×100 reay team in 2021).