Acosta runs at NAIA Championships

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Madisyn Acosta represented the Wolf Pack at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships on Friday. In Acosta's third time competing in the NAIA Championships, she ran the 6-kilometer race going against runners from around the country. Acosta finished in 208th place among 331 runners, earning a 24:31.9 time, averaging 4:06.6 per kilometer. Acosta's time on Friday enters as a school record with this year's event being the first that the Wolf Pack are running a 6-kilometer race at Nationals.
 

For the first time in recent memory, competitors in the championship race will run a 6-kilometer race. In Acosta's previous two appearances in the NAIA Championships, she ran a 5-kilometer race. In 2022, Acosta ran a 19:57.4 time in the 5-kilometer race, earning the fourth-best performance at the National Championships in Loyola's history. She achieved a time of 20:15.4 at the 2021 Championships, getting the seventh-best performance in Loyola's history at the event.
 

In addition to earning an SSAC Runner of the Week award in 2023, Acosta earned the two best times in program history in the 6-kilometer run. Her best time came from the Firehawk Invitational, earning a 22:47.74 time. Her second-best time came from the SSAC Championships, getting a time of 22:55.09. Acosta's time of 24:31.9 on Friday makes its way into the record book as the fifth-best spot in program history for the 6-kilometer run. In total, Acosta holds eight top-10 times across three events in the Wolf Pack record book, the most by any current or former Loyola runner.
 

After finishing in fourth place at the SSAC Championships, Acosta ended Friday's race as the fifth-fastest SSAC runner at the National Championships. Compared to her previous appearances at Nationals, Acosta had her best finish in 2023 among SSAC runners, earning sixth-fastest and ninth-fastest in 2021 and 2022.