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Rio Grande's Amarissa Kerns (white top) earned All-American honors after finishing fourth in the 5,000-meter run during Saturday's action in the NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
Rio Grande's Amarissa Kerns (white top) earned All-American honors after finishing fourth in the 5,000-meter run during Saturday's action in the NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
Posted: Mar 07, 2026

RedStorm's Kerns runs to All-American finish

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Rio Grande Sports Information
     GAINESVILLE, Fla. - University of Rio Grande senior Amarissa Kerns concluded her indoor career with an All-American finish, taking fourth place in the 5,000-meter run as part of Saturday's final day of competition in the 46th Annual NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field National Championship at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.
     Kerns, who hails from Lancaster, Ohio, crossed the finish line in 17:16.88.
     "She went from outside the Top 50 in cross country to fourth in the nation in indoor. What a huge upset for Amarissa," said Rio Grande head coach Matt Paxton. "Her fastest mile was the last one. She went from 13th to fourth in the last half of the race."
     As a team, the RedStorm tallied seven points in the three-day competition and finished 37th among the 68 participating teams who scored.
     "Amarissa ran the second fastest time in school history, Becca (Spohn) did the same and was an All-American in race walk, Laura (Hamm) was 12th in the mile and our Distance Medley had the second-fastest time in school history," Paxton added. "It's tough not to be pleased with that."
     Rio Grande will get back into action next Saturday when it opens the 2026 outdoor schedule at the Mikey Cox Distance Classic hosted by Concord (WV) University.