NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships
Thursday, May 22 | 8:30 p.m.
SPIRE Academy Track & Field Complex | Geneva, Ohio
WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson men's track & field graduate student
Anthony Rodriguez was officially selected to compete in the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA Division III Championships for the second year in a row last Friday.
• Rodriguez joins former teammate
Eric Bottern '24 (2023, 2024) and John Decker '18 (2017, 2018) as the only Babson men to qualify for the national meet in multiple seasons.
THE ROAD TO NATIONALS
• Rodriguez made the most of his two races in the 10,000 meters this spring as he posted the second fastest time in program history (29:43.74) at the Raleigh Relays on March 27 and posted a time of 32:25.04 to finish first for the fourth time in five years at the NEWMAC Championships on April 25.
• Rodriguez's qualifying time of 29:43.74 was just 0.13 seconds off his school record set back on April 19, 2024, and ranks 14th among the 22 athletes selected to compete on Thursday night.
• Rodriguez also competed in the 5000 meters three times this spring and recorded a season-best time of 14:27.16 at Bucknell's Bison Outdoor Classic on April 13.
MEMORABLE DEBUT AT 2024 CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Rodriguez qualified for the track & field national championships for the first time in his career last season and earned All-America second-team honors by placing 12th out of 22 runners with a time of 31.24.63 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• He was sitting in 19th place through 6800 meters but passed six competitors over the next lap and maintained his position down the stretch to become just the second male in Babson history to claim All-America honors.
BABSON IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
• The Beavers doubled their All-America awards last May in Myrtle Beach as
Eric Bottern '24 came in eighth in the shot put to join Rodriguez, John Decker '18 (800 meters, 2017) and Katherine Jaocbs '22 (100m hurdles, 2022) as previous honorees.
• Jacobs also placed 18th in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles in 2021, while Decker was a two-time qualifier in the men's 800-meter run, placing fourth in 2017 and 11th in the 2018 prelims.
• Dominic Esposito '15, the Beavers' first male qualifier, finished 15th in the decathlon in 2015, Marina Capalbo '15 qualified for the women's 1500-meter run three times (2013, 2014, 2015) and Colin Cianciolo '22 competed in the prelims of the men's 400-meter run in 2022.
• Botten made his NCAA Championships debut in 2023 and placed 12th in the prelims of the shot put.
LEAVING A LEGACY
• Rodriguez is the most decorated distance runner in Babson history having now qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships for a second time after making his third appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships back in November.
• The Beavers' only two-time NEWMAC Track Athlete of the Year (2023, 2024), Rodriguez is a four-time conference champion in the 10,000 meters (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025) and completed the rare double by winning the 5000 meters in 2023.
• Rodriguez is a three-time USTFCCCA All-East Region honoree, claimed a pair of NEICAAA All-New England laurels and earned Division III New England Championships all-region accolades back in 2022.
• Along with his success on the track, Rodriguez became the first in Babson cross country program history to receive All-America honors with his 38th-place finish at the 2024 national championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The winning time in the 10,000-meter run at last year's championship was 30:41.91 by Spencer Moon of Simpson (Iowa).
• The top time in the 10,000 meters the last time nationals were held at SPIRE Academy back in 2022 was 30:02.53.
• Just seven of last year's 22 competitors are among this year's qualifiers for the 10,000 meters, although included in that group of three of last season's top five finishers.
