MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—Babson College Senior Eric Bottern (Saint Paul, Minn.) became just the third athlete in program history to earn All-America first-team honors thanks to his eighth-place finish in the men's shot put at the NCAA Division III National Championships at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium on Friday afternoon. 

Bottern, who was making his second consecutive appearance at nationals after placing 12th last season, opened with a throw of 52-feet, 8.25-inches and followed it up with his best mark of the day (54-feet, 6.5-inches) that pushed him up to fifth position after two throws. He was seventh after three throws as the top nine competitors advanced to the finals. He recorded throws of 54-feet, 2.5-inches and 54-feet, 2-inches in rounds four and five. 

Joseph White of Carthage came in first with a top mark of 61-feet, 4-inches, on his second throws, while Keegan Digby of Ohio Northern (59-feet, 4-inches) and Sam Engebretson of MIT (58-feet, 6-inches) finished second and third, respectively. 

Bottern joins John Decker '18, who came in fourth in the 2017 men's 800-meter run, and Katherine Jacobs '22, who placed eighth in the women's 100-meter hurdles back in 2022, as the only first-team All-Americans in Babson history. Fellow senior Anthony Rodriguez (Prairie View, Ill.) earned All-America second-team honors with his 12th-place showing in the men's 10,000-meter run on Thursday night. 

The most accomplished throw in program history, Bottern has achieved the top 10 results in the shot put over the last two seasons in addition to holding school records in both the discus and hammer throws. 

By virtue of Bottern scoring one point, Babson is tied for 36th position through six of 21 events at the championship.