Wesley Methum
Wesley Methum tied a TMU Men's Track & Field program record with his second NAIA All-American award.

Methum ties program record with All-American award in 10,000 meters

5/26/2022 11:46:00 PM

By: Tim Heiduk, Assistant Athletic Director, Events and Communications
Lightning in Gulf Shores, Alabama postponed the men's 10,000-meter race from Wednesday night to Thursday at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Wesley Methum proved that, in fact, lightning can strike twice.
 
Methum became the second-ever Mustang in TMU Men's Track & Field history to earn All-American honors twice in a career, tying John Gilbertson's program record, with a sixth-place finish in the 10K (30:49.85).  
"I feel unbelievably humbled," Methum said of the accomplishment. "Understanding my feeble position before a Holy and perfect God, He has shown me grace and mercy not only through the gift of running but ultimately the gift of salvation.
 
"I hope that in the end I am completely forgotten and only Christ, and His grace and strength, is remembered."
 
After receiving an All-American award last year in the 5,000 meters, Methum did so in the 10,000 meters on Thursday, finishing sixth in a time of 30:49.85.
 
"The strategy was to go out as relaxed as possible, find a spot on the rail and put myself in a spot to contend for the win," Methum said. "The Lord was faithful to provide the strength needed to race."
 
Methum stayed with the leaders for the majority of the race, rising up to as high as third at the 8,000-meter mark.
 
"Tactically, Wes ran a flawless race," Master's Head Coach Zach Schroeder said. "He was sitting back in the lead pack, covering every move. With a mile to go, a big move was made and Wes fell back to sixth. If the race was run again, I think there would have been a different outcome, but that's the race the Lord gave Wes tonight."  
The two-time track All-American will look to set a new program record for most track & field All-American awards when he competes in the 5,000 meters on Friday.
 
With the 10K being pushed back a day, that leaves less recovery time for Methum but he said he's "excited to suffer some more."
 
Joining him in the 5K race will be Brint Laubach, who finished Thursday's 10K in 22nd place (32:40.27).
 
"Brint suffered with a side cramp tonight, which is just one of those things you can't control," Schroeder said. "I was so thankful for how he fought to the finish. He has another shot in the 5K tomorrow and I'm confident he'll give it his all."
 
In the women's 10K race, Kimberly Page led a trio of Mustangs with her 13th-place finish (38:01.74). Autumn Nootbaar (38:55.35) and Sophie Southerden (39:48.17) followed in 21st and 24th positions respectively.
 
"Autumn and Kimmie had phenomenal races, working together for the first half of the race," Schroeder said. "The second half of the race, Autumn's calf really locked up, but she toughed it out like a champ. Kimmie ran an amazing second half, climbing up to 13th position, an incredible finish for a national debut in the 10K."
 
Page improved from 26th after 2400 meters to steadily rise up the field. Southerden was in 12th place before accidentally stopping the race too soon.
 
"Sophie ran a fantastic race," Schroeder said. "However, in the final mile the race was quite spread out, and several athletes mistakenly stopped a lap early. Once she realized what had happened, Sophie did the honorable thing and finished the race.
 
"It was one of those character revealing moments and Sophie's character truly reflected Christ."
 
In the women's 800-meter preliminaries, Ellen Palmgren finished second in her heat and had the eighth-fastest qualifying time overall (2:13.62) to book her spot in Friday's final. She previously earned a place in Friday's 1500-meter final.
 
"Today was pretty much as perfect as any race could have been and I am just praising the Lord at how He orchestrated the weather, which was cool," Palmgren said. "My legs felt great going in, and the race was perfectly executed where I didn't have to run a crazy time to get into the finals.
 
"Most of all, however, I'm just super thankful to be out here with this wonderful group of people who love the Lord and love each other."
 
The men's 4x800 meter relay team of Davis Boggess, Daniel Rush, Zach Garey and Anthony Ghiorso placed 12th in a time of 7:39.62, missing out on a spot in the final by just a few seconds.
 
"The guys raced really well in the 4x800," Schroeder said. "Although close to the best we've been, it wasn't enough today. It's disappointing to come up short but we rejoice knowing that God is on His throne and this is what He had for us today."
 
Friday will be TMU's busiest day of the three-day national championship meet, with nine Mustangs competing in six events.
 
Caleb Pouliot will kick off the day in the men's pole vault at 1 p.m. CDT / 11 a.m. PDT.
 
Palmgren and Hannah Fredericks will run in the women's 1500 meters at 3 p.m. CDT / 1 p.m. PDT, with Anthony Ghiorso immediately following in the men's 1500-meter final at 3:10 p.m. CDT / 1:10 p.m. PDT.
 
Palmgren's will run her second race of the day, the women's 800 meters, at 4:50 p.m. CDT / 2:50 p.m. PDT.
 
Fredericks will then race in her second final, the women's 5,000 meters, at 5:30 p.m. CDT / 3:30 p.m. PDT along with Arianna Ghiorso.
 
TMU's participation in the meet will conclude with Methum, Laubach, Boggess and Rush running in the men's 5K at 5:55 p.m. CDT / 3:55 p.m. PDT.
 
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