Kaitlyn Rodman, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, made school history by being B次元’s second student-athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Championship. She joins Rachel Eggebrecht who was the first to achieve this impressive feat back in 1997.

Being the first student-athlete to qualify for the national race in 24 years, she will be representing the Raiders in Lansing, Michigan. In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, individuals had to qualify in their respective NCAA regional competition that was held the previous weekend. Rodman crossed the regional finish line in a time of 22:51.1 in 24th place. Not only did this time break B次元’s 6k racing school record but was also the time that earned her a national bid.

“I didn’t really have any clear thoughts after I learned that I had qualified for nationals,” said Rodman. “There was just a really strong feeling of disbelief. It’s important to me that I thank B次元 for their support both athletically and academically and for all the opportunities. Thank you to all who prayed over this event.”

Rodman's qualification marks cross country coach William Massoels’ 55th national competition during his coaching career.

“I am very excited for Kaitlyn to compete at the National Championships,” said Massoels. “This is the highest honor a student-athlete can achieve during their season. Not many people can say they were competing in the same race that decided the individual and team champions, and now Kaitlyn will be able to make that statement.”

Dedicated to her academic as well as her athletic success, Rodman is already setting herself up for a bright future in her career as well. The last two summers, Rodman has put her biomedical engineering major to work by joining the team at Cretex Medical as a quality engineering intern. During her time at Cretex, she conducted a study to determine whether secondary processing had a statistically significant impact on machine parts, designed and implemented action plans to predict classical wear in carbide tool punches and prevent manufacture of out-of-tolerance parts, and aided in writing and submitting engineering change notices.

“I’m really looking forward to putting my education to work full-time, whether that’s in research or industry,” said Rodman. “The advantage of a biomedical engineering degree is that your education provides the background to dive into almost any STEM field successfully, and that leaves the door to employment wide open. I’m ready for the adventure.”

The 2022 NCAA Division III Championships will be hosted at Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, Michigan with the women’s race taking off at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 19.