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EUGENE, Ore. – North Dakota State junior Erin Teschuk finished fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase and senior Maddie Van Beek placed eighth as both earned first-team All-America honors on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
In front of a capacity crowd of more than 11,000 fans at Oregon's historic Hayward Field, both runners clocked lifetime-best performances. Teschuk trimmed more than one second off her previous school record mark, finishing in 9:42.15. Van Beek cut over three seconds from her previous best, crossing the line in 9:54.42.
 
"To have two girls qualify in one event is pretty special, but then when you have them both place in the top eight, that's amazing," said NDSU head women's coach Stevie Keller. "I'm proud of those girls and how hard they fought. It's been a pretty amazing year for them."
 
The pair became the third and fourth Bison women to earn top-eight finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, joining Laura Hermanson (800 meters, 2009) and Whitney Carlson (heptathlon, 2011). Teschuk's finish matches Carlson's fifth-place heptathlon showing for the second-highest outdoor finish in NDSU's Division I era.
 
With top-eight finishes in the mile and 3,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, Teschuk is now the first NDSU women's track athlete to earn three first-team All-America honors at the Division I level.
 
The race proved to be one of the fastest in NCAA Championships history. Florida State's Colleen Quigley won in 9:29.32 – the third-fastest time in collegiate history. Teschuk's time would have earned her a runner-up finish at last year's meet.
 
Three months after placing fifth in the fastest indoor mile race in NCAA history, Teschuk once again found herself battling with some of the best in collegiate history.
 
"I see it in a positive way," Teschuk said. "It's awesome that I have the opportunity to be in those kinds of races, and it really pushes me as an athlete. I think next year I'm going to be more prepared than anything."
 
Both NDSU runners unleashed strong finishing kicks to move up one place over the final 70 meters of the race.
 
"They never give up," said NDSU distance coach Andrew Carlson. "They have shown that all year. If you ever think they might be out of it, they always come back. They never get too high or too low, and I think that helps them toward the end of races because they still have their wits about them."
 
With Teschuk (39th) and Van Beek (78th) both ranking among the top 80 women in the world this year in the steeplechase, their seasons are not quite over. Van Beek expects to run at the USATF Championships in Eugene in two weeks, and Teschuk will compete at the Canadian track & field championships in Edmonton during the first week of July.
 
Teschuk's time on Saturday also met the Olympic qualifying standard for the 2016 games in Rio, should she rank high enough among Canadian women next year.
 
"There is a finality to this race, but this is also just another step," said Carlson. "I think this is a huge one for both of them going forward."
 
Following the race and ensuing award ceremony, the two Bison runners appeared more thrilled for their teammate's performance than for their own.
 
"Before the race, both of us were kind of reflecting on it and we didn't really even have words," Teschuk said. "We were just so happy to be there together. After the race, I looked back and I couldn't tell what place Maddie got or her time or anything. When I found out she got eighth and we were both in the top eight – that was the best feeling of all."
 
Van Beek echoed the same sentiment.
 
"I'm just so proud of Erin," said Van Beek. "I love having her as a teammate. Watching her in front of me in the race, I knew she was going to do well. Throughout the season, you have your ups and downs, and we both have had our ups and downs, but I knew she was ready to have a good race."
 
For Van Beek, the race was a realization of her two biggest goals entering the season.
 
"From the very start when Andrew and I sat down and made goals for the season, I wanted to make the NCAA finals and I wanted to finish in the top eight," she said. "To get that eighth spot – I'm pumped."
 
"I couldn't ask for anything more than what I got at NDSU," Van Beek reflected. "I had amazing coaches. I had the best teammates, year in and year out. Adding Erin in the mix – that we got to race the steeple together and make it here together – that was the cherry on top. I couldn't ask for anything more."