Alauna Carstens, junior from The Evergreen State College, took second place in the women’s 3,000-meter run on the final day of competition at the 2026 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday, March 7.
It marked the second consecutive year that Carstens completed the NAIA Indoor 3,000-meter race among the top three finishers. She earned third place at the NAIA Championships last year. Carstens was an All-American in the event both years.
This year, Carstens finished in 9 minutes and 51.95 seconds, just six seconds behind Ellen-Mary Kearney from Milligan University, who also won the 3,000-meter NAIA championship last year.
“What a race by Alauna. I am so proud and pleased of her performance,” Joel Pearson, Evergreen head cross country and track coach, said in a release. “After winning the NAIA National Marathon last fall, we had a tough start to the indoor season. Watching her race today was so awesome.”
Carstens has registered NAIA All-American performances eight times. In addition to the two All-American performances at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2025 and 2026, she has won the NAIA Marathon Classic twice, in 2024 and 2025, and has claimed NAIA All-American recognition twice in cross country and twice in outdoor track and field.
