EUGENE, Ore.— Graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) of the UMass Lowell men's track and field program capped off a successful season on the track Wednesday night, competing in the men's 10,000-meter final of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships.
 
"Chris ran a really smart race and ran within himself for the first 5,000-meters, crossing in a PR 14:09," said Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
Missing his personal-best mark by seconds, Alfond ran to a 29:23.55 time to finish 20th in the highly competitive field. Tulsa's Patrick Dever took home the title with a meet record time of 27:41.87.
 
"He got a cramp after that first 5,000-meters, but he fought through it to still run a really solid time of 29:23, which is his third fastest time ever," commented Gardner. "It just happened to be the fastest 10K field in NCAA Championship history."  
 
For his strong performance in his first ever NCAA Outdoor Championship appearance, Alfond garnered Third Team All-American honors.
 
"He obviously has had an outstanding year," remarked veteran coach Gardner. "We're already looking forward to next year."