MARION, IN - Josiah Jaquith of the Northwest men's track and field team traveled to Indiana for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships.

As a true freshman, Jaquith had a phenomenal year on the track. 

Jaquith finished the year as a two-time CCC All-Conference award winner. He earned numerous podium finishes including a first-place finish in the men's 1500 run at the PLU Open with a time of 4:02.51. His crowning achievement came in the men's 3k steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational, where he smashed a school record that stood for over 20 years, finishing with a time of 9:01.16. His performance in the steeplechase secured him a spot in the national championships. 

In the preliminaries on Wednesday, Jaquith raced alongside 12 other racers from across the country and finished as the runner-up in heat two with an incredible time of 9:19.86. This was enough to qualify for the finals. 

"Josiah looked really strong in his prelims," said Head Coach Mark Mandi. "It was hard to tell that this was his first outdoor national championship because of how much poise he had; God has prepared him well for tests like these." 

Two days later, Jaquith lined up for the steeplechase championship with 14 other racers. It was a long and grueling race as he started on the far side of the track. Jaquith tried to gain traction with the head pack, but he finished with a strong eighth-place finish with a time of 9:10.39. 

"Josiah finished 8th and earned All-American honors, a great way to cap off the season," Mandi continued. "This will cap off one of the best freshman seasons at NU and hopefully will be just the building blocks of some amazing things God will continue to do in and through this program."