PITTSBURGH, Kans. – Western State Colorado University junior Georgia Porter finished fifth in the women's 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II National Championships to become the first All-American of the 2016 season. The team will look to add a few more in the final day of competition at Pittsburg State University tomorrow.
 
Porter, who finished with a time of 16:18.39, earned her second All-American title as a Mountaineer. Her time is the second-fastest in school history. On top of the title, Porter also held off her younger sister, Shannon Porter of Saint Martin, who finished 12^th overall. Georgia will compete in the 3,000 meters tomorrow.
 
The other Mountaineer to put himself in All-American contention today was Robin Butler in the men's 800. Butler intelligently won his heat of the 800 in the last 20 meters to qualify for the finals, despite only running the 10^th fastest time in prelims. Butler was the national runner-up in this event last year.
 
Two Mountaineer sprinters were in competition today. Elijah Gilbert ran 6.92 in the men's 60 to finish 16^th, then ran 22.36 to finish 18^th in the prelims of the men's 200. Kyree Gerstle-Goodman barely missed out on the finals, finishing 13^th in the men's 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.14 seconds.
 
The Mountaineer track teams closed out the first day of competition in the men and women's distance medley relays. The men's team of Keifer Johnson, Casey Lewis, Zach Cooper, and Dawid Konieczek ran 9:58.36 and finished in 10^th place. Their time is the third fastest in school history. On the women's side, Dominika Kaszuba, Jenice Whitehead, Cydney Branch, and Alicja Konieczek finished in 13^th place. Their time of 12:03.27 is now fifth in school history.