SPOKANE, Wash. -- Alauna Carstens (Jr.) from The Evergreen State College won the women's 10,000-meter run to lead the Geoducks at the Whitworth Peace Meet on Friday, April 3 at Puryear Field/Boppell Track. Carstens won in 36:19.67 to qualify for the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships.

She won the 10,000-meter race on Friday by 35.66 seconds. Rozzlyn Cazier from College of Idaho was second in 36:55.33 and Anna Prussian of Seattle Pacific University placed third in 37:11.26. Edith Nelson from the College of Southern Idaho took fourth place in 37:33.41 and Alyssa Jany of Montana Tech was fifth in 38:46.94.

Carstens met the NAIA "B" qualifying standard by 46.33 seconds. She finished just 2.67 seconds away from the NAIA "A" standard. She ranks fifth on the NAIA national performance list in the 10,000 this season.

The women's 10,000-meter run was a strong event for the Geoducks at the meet, as three other Evergreen athletes achieved Cascade Collegiate Conference qualifying times. Sherlyn Perales (Jr.) was timed at 41:06.94, while Sylvie Biesack (Fr.) crossed the finish line in 41:11.73, and Madison Palek (So.) earned a time of 41:35.27.

In the men's 10,000-meter run, Max Baeder (Jr.) of Evergreen was third in 32:19.60. Teammate Jackson Rye (Jr.) placed seventh at 32:47.03. Baeder and Rye qualified for the CCC meet earlier this season.

Evan Willliams (Jr.), also from Evergreen, completed the men's 10,000. He registered a time of 35:12.38.

Soleil Bianchi (Jr.) registered a time of 20:36.29 for the Geoducks in the women's 5,000-meter race.

The men's and women's races in 3,000-meter steeplechase each featured one Evergreen athlete. In the women's steeplechase, Dani Buttrell (So.) placed fifth with a school record time of 11:34.09. She improved her CCC qualifying time by more than one minute. Buttrell currently ranks ninth in the NAIA. In the men's steeplechase, Will Niskanen (So.) was timed at 10:39.29.

"Incredible day for the 10k athletes," Evergreen Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Joel Pearson said. "Having six CCC qualifiers shows the aerobic depth we are creating. Congrats to Alauna for making nationals!

"It also was an incredible day for Dani!" Pearson added. "It was just an awesome performance! She improved on her national ranking and broke the school record in the process!" 

"We are so excited for the continued improvements from the program … Especially for Dani's awesome performance today!" said Evergreen Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Katie Burnett.

Evergreen track and field athletes will compete at the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational on Saturday, April 4. The meet will be hosted by Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.