GENEVA, Ohio –
Esther Seeland became the most nationally decorated student-athlete in Messiah Athletics history at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championship Meet on Saturday. Over the course of 90 minutes, Seeland claimed her fourth and fifth career individual National Championships by winning the 1500 Meter and the 800 Meter. Seeland started her day at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio with a victory in the 1500 Meter with a time of 4:27.21, cruising across the line for the title. Just over an hour later, Seeland claimed the 800 Meter National Title with a mark of 2:04.68 for her fourth 800 Meter National Title.
Seeland won going away in both of her events in a difficult double on Saturday.
Combine the two victories on Saturday with Seeland's previous three track and field National Titles and the women's soccer National Championship in 2019 where Seeland was a starting defender, Esther has six National Championships to her name during her career in Grantham. Additionally, Seeland earned All-American honors in the 2019 Indoor 800 Meter, 2020 Indoor 800 Meter, and 2022 Indoor 3000 Meter for a career total of eight All-American honors.
Messiah track and field has now earned 11 all-time individual National Champions with two on the men's side and nine on the women's side.
Esther Seeland has accounted for nearly half of those honors, claiming five. Kristen Bates is the only other individual with multiple National Championships, claiming three all during the 2010 season. Seeland matched Bates' three individual National Championships in a year, claiming the 800 Meter at the Indoor Championships and the 800 Meter and 1500 Meter on Saturday.
As an Athletic Department, Messiah has now claimed 35 total National Championships with 19 team Titles and 16 individual Championships.
1500 Meter National Champion - Esther Seeland – 4:27.21
Esther Seeland cruised to the fourth individual National Championship in her career on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, Ohio, winning the 1500 Meter in a time of 4:27.21. The race started with Seeland hanging in the front half of the pack.
After 300 meters, Seeland sat in third place, just a quarter of a second off the lead with a split of 56.02. She stayed in third at the midpoint of the race with a second lap split of 1:14.98. After the third lap, Seeland jumped up a spot thanks to a split of 1:1362.
On the final lap, Seeland turned on the jets, but left plenty in the tank for the 800 Meter that was coming up less than an hour after the race wrapped up. Seeland jumped in front and cruised to the Championship. By the time the final straightaway arrived, Seeland had a sizable lead and was able to converse her energy heading into her second Championship Final of the day.
Her final split of 1:03.96 was the fastest in the field and catapulted her to the 1500 Meter National Championship, the first non-800 Meter National Championship in her career.
Middlebury's Cassie Kearney took second with a time of 4:28.05 while Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace, 4:28.79), Zanzie Demco (Wis.-Oshkosh, 4:28.79), and Sadie Heeringa (Calvin, 4:30.53) rounded out the time five finishers.
800 Meter National Champion - Esther Seeland – 2:04.68
After getting the 1500 Meter Championship under her belt, Seeland turned her attention to the second leg of our double, the 800 Meter. Seeland entered the event as the heavy favorite after winning every 800 Meter National Championship contested since the spring of 2019. Seeland did not disappoint, winning the event in a time of 2:04.68.
Much like the 1500 Meter earlier in the afternoon, Seeland was content to hang back a little. She was in second after the first lap in a split time of 1:02.80. After the opening lap, Seeland took over, shaving almost a full second off of her first lap with a split of 1:01.88 to win the event by a full two seconds over the second-place finisher Emma Kelley from Washington University in St. Louis (2:06.69).
Cassie Kearney (Middlebury, 2:07.92), Delaney Sall (Calvin, 2:08.23), and Elizabeth Donnelly (Gustavus Adolphus, 2:08.60) rounded out the top five with seven of the nine runners turning in personal best times in the race. In total, the top-eight finishers all went sub-2:10 to earn All-American honors.
Team Finish
By winning two different events, Seeland claimed 20 team points in the National Championship standings. As a result,
Esther Seeland placed the Messiah women's track and field team in a tie for 12th place alongside Wellesley, Pacific Lutheran, and Concordia Univ. Chicago. Loras won the women's team title, finishing with 55 team points.
