Competing in Geneva, OH, Cal State San Marcos senior runner Brett Campfield has recorded top-three finishes in both his events at the 2011 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
Campfield, a senior who transferred to CSUSM from Princeton, placed second in the mile and third in the 1,000-meter run on Saturday. In the mile, Campfield ran 4:12.33, which was just over half a second behind Oklahoma Christian's Silas Kisorio.
“I was getting pretty worried in the mile as I was in the back struggling to hold on to the pack,” commented Campfield. “But I was able to find that extra gear, and once I started passing people it kind of became contagious and I just wanted to get to the line as fast as possible.”
In the 1,000-meter run, Campfield ran 2:26.43, good for third place behind Embry-Riddle's Sam Vazquez and Dakota State's Andy Coy.
“I knew the 1,000 was just going to be whatever I had left in the tank, but my legs came back in such a short period of time, and I finished strong again and put myself in the top 3,” noted Campfield.
On the strength of his finishes, Campfield earns All-American status in both events. That matches what he did last spring in the outdoor season, when he took third in the 800-meter run and second in the 1,500-meter run. Campfield is now a four time All-American for CSUSM, with the 2011 outdoor season yet to come.
“The whole meet was incredible,” said Campfield. “The facilities were amazing, the crowd was loud, large, and supportive and there were lots of really exciting competitions.”
Also competing for the Cougars over the last three days at Nationals was the 4x400-meter relay team of Lucia Asbury, Krystle Osby, Michelle Cruz, and Amber Rosario, with Asbury and Rosario competing in individual events as well.
Though Campfield was the only Cougar to qualify for the finals in an event, his finishes gave the CSUSM men's team 14 points, putting them remarkably in 17th place out of the 55 teams competing.
Campfield's full take on his day and the overall experience is below:
“I'm really pleased with this whole weekend. Just making in through the prelims is an accomplishment in itself with the quality of runners and the closeness of the races. I woke up this morning with my legs feeling like toast, but excited for the finals.
I was getting pretty worried in the mile as I was in the back struggling to hold on to the pack, but I was able to find that extra gear, and once I started passing people it kind of became contagious and I just wanted to get to the line as fast as possible. It wasn't a perfect race, but it worked out well and I'm fortunate.
I knew the 1,000 was just going to be whatever I had left in the tank, but my legs came back in such a short period of time, and I finished strong again and put myself in the top 3.
The whole meet was incredible- the facilities were amazing, the crowd was loud, large, and supportive and there were lots of really exciting competitions. The whole team had a lot of fun, especially standing out on a frozen Lake Erie today, and I hope we'll get an even larger number of athletes out here next year.”
