Katie Blais became the first Jimmie national track & field qualifier on Saturday, December 1, 2012.   She qualified for the NAIA National Meet in the Marathon by winning the Midland University Half Marathon near Fremont, Nebraska, on Saturday.

Katie ran an overall time of 1:31:06 to capture first place among 14 women finishers.   Katie averaged 6:57 per mile. 

Katie beat her closest competitor, Katie Smelker of Mt. Marty, in the 13.1 mile race by a mere 15 seconds to capture the gold.

Katie is a freshman from St. Michael, Minnesota.

Katie ran cross country for the Jimmies in Fall 2012 and her best 5K time was 19:39 in the A.I.I. (Association of Independent Institutions) meet in Escondido, California, on November 17.

The NAIA marathon will be in Marion, Indiana, during the May 23-25 NAIA Outdoor National Meet.