SACRAMENTO, Calif. - William Woods University's Dustin Russell set the men's program's school record and qualified for the Boston Marathon in the 2024 NAIA Marathon Classic Sunday, placing 19th out of 49 NAIA runners at 2:36:47 (5:59 mile pace). On the women's side, the Owls shipped two competitors to Boston, with Crystal Ruden finishing 17th out of 46 at 3:17:39 (7:33) and Tara Lowe 20th at 3:22:33 (7:44). WWU competed as a team on the women's side, taking third out of eight teams to put the Owls on the podium.

Russell's tremendous showing saw him break William Woods' men's marathon record time by 3:44.5 and his personal best by an astonishing 15:01. Kaleb Wilson was the previous record holder, clocking a 2:40:31.5 marathon for a runner-up finish at the 2017 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Until last year, the NAIA included the marathon in its outdoor track and field national championships before it partnered with the California International Marathon for a standalone marathon race - non-NAIA competitors also ran in the 8,356-competitor event.

Early on, Russell was in contention for a top-10 finish, sitting in 10th with a 5:46 mile pace through the first 20k. Then he dropped to 11th halfway through with a 5:41 mile before falling to 13th at the 35k clip with a 6:10 mile and eventually dropping to his final placing of 19th at the 40k clip with a 6:33 mile. Russell did more than enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon, nearly 20:00 ahead of the men's benchmark time, a sub-2:55:00 mark.

"What an amazing day for everyone," William Woods cross country coach Dan Schwab said. "Very special for Dustin to achieve his goal of setting a new school record, personal best and Boston Marathon qualifying time once again. A 5:59-mile average is truly extraordinary."

On the women's side, The Woods' Lowe ran in her second straight marathon classic, joining Russell as the university's only student-athletes to compete in the first two years of the event. It was Ruden's - a three-time NAIA cross country national championships qualifier and three-time All-American Midwest Conference honoree - first marathon for WWU. 

Freshmen teammates Amy Schreck and Sydney Grubb raced with the Boston-bound women's Owls. Schreck rounded out the three times that counted toward the team's total time of 10:20:34, making it to the California State Capitol in 3:40:22 (8:25 mile pace) to finish 35th. From the starting line in Folsom to finish in Sacramento, Grubb stayed near Schreck, placing 38th at 3:43:07 (8:31). 

"Crystal and Tara also posted Boston qualifying times, and Amy and Sydney performed very well in their first marathon experience," Schwab said. "Very special for the women as a team to take third place in this event for the second year in a row. What a way to finish the year! So proud of this team."

Despite it being her first marathon for William Woods, Ruden looked like someone with experience with the tall task of running all 42.195k (26.2 miles) of a marathon, holding her best marker placing of 13th from the 15k (7:20 mile pace) to 35k point (7:54) before dropping to 16th at 40k (8:21) and finishing 17th. Ruden surpassed the sub-3:25:00 women's Boston Marathon qualification time by nearly eight minutes.

Meanwhile, Lowe improved upon her first marathon as an Owl by an impressive 8:24. Whether it was the intended strategy or not, Lowe took a different route than her two WWU teammates joining her in Boston, recording her best placing, 19th twice, toward the final stretch at 35k (7:55 mile pace) and 40k (7:53). Furthermore, Lowe got to her fastest mile average of 7:20 at the halfway point. Lowe's latter half push of pace saw her achieve Boston Marathon qualification by just under three minutes.

Women's Team Results

1. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - 9 pts, 9:26:44/7:13
    7 - Tiffany Terry: 3:00:55/6:55
    12 - Fionnula Carew: 3:11:14/7:18
    14 - Mia Kemp: 3:14:35/7:26

2. Huntington University - 16 pts, 9:47:42/7:29
    6 - Abbey Gentz: 3:00:49/6:54
    21 - Amelia Strzechowski: 3:22:48/7:45
    22 - Lily Spaulding: 3:24:05/7:48

3. William Woods - 30 pts, 10:20:34/7:54
    17 - Crystal Ruden: 3:17:39/7:33
    20 - Tara Lowe: 3:22:33/7:44
    35 - Amy Schreck: 3:40:22/8:25

4. University of Saint Francis (IN) - 43 pts, 10:42:33/8:11
    24 - Marissa Goodwin: 3:24:16/7:48
    26 - Danielle Lesser: 3:26:57/7:54
    44 - Lily Kissner: 3:51:20/8:50

5. University of Mobile - 46 pts, 10:44:01/8:12
    27 - Haley Jones: 3:27:41/7:56
    28 - Kayley Burgess: 3:28:46/7:58
    42 - Trinity Page: 3:47:34/8:41

6. Cottey College - 46 pts, 10:47:08/8:14
    29 - Avery Morris: 3:30:20/8:02
    32 - Kyndal Soukup: 3:36:59/8:17
    34 - Taylor Rechenmacher: 3:39:49/8:24

7. Indiana University East - 54 pts, 11:13:43/8:35 
    37 - Makenzee Kahn: 3:41:37/8:28
    39 - Evelyn Hasenour: 3:43:48/8:33
    43 - Savanna Smith: 3:48:18/8:43

8. Graceland University - 62 pts, 11:23:58/8:42
    30 - Mickenzie Fisher: 3:30:44/8:03
    41 - Jordyn Fisher: 3:45:43/8:37
    46 - Sierra Davenport: 4:07:31/9:27

Women's Individual Results
17 - Crystal Ruden 3:17:39 (7:33/mi)
[Overall 2,268/8,356; Female 457/3,086; F 20-24 years old 37/183]

20 - Tara Lowe 3:22:33 (7:44/mi)
[Overall 2,569/8,356; Female 566/3,086; F 20-24 years old 47/183]

35 - Amy Schreck 3:40:22 (8:25/mi)
[Overall 3,798/8,356; Female 1,050/3,086; F 1-19 years old 7/25]

38 - Sydney Grubb 3:43:07 (8:31/mi)
[Overall 3,966/8,356; Female 1,116/3,086; F 1-19 years old 8/25]

Men's Individual Results
19 - Dustin Russell 2:36:47 (5:59/mi)
[Overall 222/8,356; Male 203/5,247; M 20-24 years old 29/278]