DILLON — This past Saturday Montana Western’s Mindy Kaufman placed third overall in the NAIA national track and field championships in the 5,000-meter run.
With that she became the first female track athlete to podium for the Bulldogs in program history, per available records. The accolades and achievements have piled up over the years for Kaufman: NAIA all-American selections, Frontier Conference championships, and shattered school records all add to a substantial list of incredible feats. Upon returning to Dillon Kaufman and three other teammates from the men’s track team received Daktronics Scholar-Athlete awards on top of all that.
This chapter of Kaufman’s running days has come to an end. However, she will continue to share her talent with her high school alma mater, Teton High School in Driggs, Idaho, as the new girls cross country coach in the fall of 2019. She’ll share her incredible story and message to the next generation of runners back where it all started for her.
“Never think anything is unattainable, because if you had told me I was going to run a 17:32 by my senior year as a freshman I would’ve laughed in your face and said that’s not even attainable,” said Kaufman.
“It’s been fantastic. You know, Mindy showed up four years ago and started racing really well immediately and I knew I was onto something good there,” said Western head track coach Dylan Zitzer. “She’s just been able to build on every year.”
