Three Culver-Stockton College distance runners competed in the inaugural NAIA Marathon National Championships Sunday morning in Sacramento, Calif. The race was held in conjunction with the California International Marathon.

The Wildcats were represented by Faith Younce and Allison Morris in the women's portion of the race, and Kile Dowd in the men's portion of the marathon.

Younce completed the 26 mile, 385 yard race in a time of 3:41:51 and placed 27th among the 35 NAIA home runners competing. Morris completed her race in 3:48:09 and placed 30th among the 35 runners.

Dowd concluded the marathon in a time of 3:33:08 to place 52nd among the 58 male runners who finished the race. Sixty-five men started the marathon under the NAIA umbrella, but only 58 finished the race.

The NAIA Marathon National Championship is being held as a standalone event this year. It previously was a part of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.Qualifications for this event took place from August 9-Nov 5 (12 weeks). Student-athletes who wanted to be considered to run in the marathon had to average 50 miles per week during that 12 week training period. 

Secondly, during those 12 weeks of training the student-athlete had to complete a minimum of two 2-hour runs.

The trio of Wildcat runners have compiled over 1,750 miles between them since moving onto campus in early August.

The Wildcats are slated to compete in their first indoor meet of the season this Friday, Dec. 8. at the Cornell Winter Classic at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The meet is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.