JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Graduate student Aziza Chigatayeva has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 3,000 Steeplechase (SC). It marks her first trip to a national championship meet during her illustrious career.
At the NCAA East Region Meet on Saturday afternoon at Hodges Stadium, Chigatayeva was third in her heat and ninth overall with a time of 10:02.11. The top three finishers in each of the 16-runner heats plus the next three fastest times qualified for the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.
Also competing at the NCAA East Region Meet for Binghamton was senior Marcrene Jeannot, who was 31st overall in the men’s triple jump on Friday night. He recorded a distance of 49-7.
Chigatayeva was in the first of three heats, which was won by Katie Thronson of Notre Dame in a time of 9:58.28. In second place of that heat was Carmen Riano of Miami-Ohio (9:59.67). Chigatayeva then outkicked Emily Cole of Duke for the third automatic qualifying spot. Cole, whose time was 10:02.82, eventually qualified for the NCAA Championships with the 11th fastest time of the day.
“What a tough and exciting performance by Aziza tonight,” distance coach Annette Acuff said. “She left everything on the track and fought so hard to make the national championships. We are absolutely thrilled for both her and our track program. “
The top overall qualifying time in the 3,000 SC was 9:52.54 – by Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame.
The 3,000 SC at the NCAA Championships is scheduled for 8:24 CST (9:24 EST) on Saturday, June 10. It will be aired live on ESPN2.
Chigatayeva is the third Binghamton female athlete to qualify for a NCAA Division I national track & field meet. Keishorea Armstrong advanced three times in the long jump between 2015-18 and Emily Mackay was a three-time qualifier in the distance events between 2021-22. This marks the first time, however, that a Binghamton runner will compete in the 3,000 SC.
Heading into Saturday’s race, Chigatayeva had already compiled a historic resume at Binghamton. She advanced to the NCAA East Region Meet four times in the 3,000 SC and won four consecutive America East titles in the same event. In addition, she was a five-time, top-five finisher at the America East Cross Country Championships, including a career-best second-place finish this past October. But the ultimate goal of advancing to the national stage wasn’t realized until Saturday night.
Chigatayeva is also the fifth distance runner to be coached by Acuff that has advanced to the NCAA Track & Field Championships. She is preceded by Erik Van Ingen (five times between 2010-12), Jesse Garn (three times between 2015-16), Mackay and Dan Schaffer (2022 outdoor meet).
NOTE: Kenzie Doyle of UMass Lowell – who Chigatayeva was the runner-up to at the 2022 America East Cross Country Championships – also qualified for the NCAA Championships. She was seventh overall in the 10,000 on Thursday night.