GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Another season culminated in more history for William Woods University's Mekayla Gibson as she ran the two fastest 5,000-meter run times of her life - breaking her school record both times - with the best being 17:17.86 in the final of the 45th Annual NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field National Championship, which took place from Thursday to Saturday at Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe. 

"I am super stoked with a 19-second PR in the span of three days!" Gibson said. "I came up a little short of All-American, but this weekend gives me a whole lot of confidence for outdoor! Fastest current student-teacher around!"

Despite being an All-American in the 5k last indoor season, Gibson, seeded 17th, needed to have her best possible race in Thursday's preliminaries to move on to Saturday's final. And Gibson did precisely that, placing sixth out of 18 overall and third out of eight in Heat 2 at 17:32.23, surpassing her then-previous personal record by 4.56 seconds.

Gibson went from an All-American placing spot in the preliminary rounds — the top eight are All-Americans — to a place outside of it in the finals, with a better time by 14.37 seconds, demonstrating the strength of the nationals field. Split seconds from her second straight All-American finish, Gibson's 17:17.86 was 0.51 seconds behind the eighth and final All-American runner.

"I am so proud of Mekayla's effort not just this weekend but the entire season," William Woods track and field assistant Gregory A. Keeler said. "Running the fastest time in her life on the biggest stage solidifies Mekayla's claim as the best runner in William Woods history."

The Owls open outdoor season in the CMU Open at 10 a.m. March 15 at Davis Field & Hairston Track in Fayette.