(MSUB Athletics release)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jorey Egeland joined an exclusive club on Friday as he became the second male Yellowjacket in Montana State University Billings Track and Field history to earn an All-American finish with an 11th-place performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division II National Outdoor track and Field Championships.
Egeland, a Billings native, edged out Sam Zook’s 12th-place finish from last season to become the highest-placing male Yellowjacket at the national meet. The senior finished the race with a time of 9:13.92 finishing less than a tenth of a second behind the second place finisher (9:13.85).
“He’s done so much for our team and our program,” head coach Jonathan Woehl said following the final race of Egeland’s MSUB career. “He went through the disappointment of the west region cross country meet and then had highs during the indoor season with two top-3 finishes at conference and capped it off with two GNAC Championships. He has been a great leader for us all season. He’s an all-American and he is one of the 12 best in the entire nation at what he does. It was a tough race today but there isn’t much more to say than he’s awesome.”
Gatien Airiau won the race at a blistering 8:47.99 pace. Egeland remained in the top-10 throughout the first 2,600-meters and was as high as seventh place in the race.
“Everybody has that do or die mentality,” Egeland said of the race. “Yesterday we were all just trying to get here and now for a lot of us this was our last college race and we just gave it our all.”
As the Yellowjackets top cross country competitor and the leader of the distance group on the track, the Billings Senior graduate showed remarkable endurance throughout three season.
“It’s tiring but I just had to stay consistent and manage my workload so I could have a good senior season,” Egeland said of his performance. “I’m excited to have an all-American finish. We have a lot people who are working really hard in our program and I am glad to represent our team. I wish the finish would have been a little higher but I am not going to hang my head.”
Della Lyle’s ninth-place finish in the women’s steeplechase is the only finish better than Egeland’s in MSUB history. The Yellowjackets are not done with the national meet as junior Beau Ackerman will compete in the javelin final tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. The MSUB junior currently ranks fourth in the nation with a throw of 69.13 meters (226’ 10”). A live stream of the championships can be found on NCAA.com with live results posted via Leone Timing.
