MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University track and field athletes
Allison Hookom (JR, Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) and
Mohammed Bati (JR, Dodola, Ethiopia/GAP School) qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships, it was announced on Sunday.
Hookom qualified for the national championships for the third straight year in the women's 400-meter dash, while Bati qualified for the indoor nationals for the first time in the men's 5,000-meter run. The national championships will be held this Friday and Saturday (3/14-15) at the
Nazareth University Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. The women's 400-meter dash preliminaries will be held on Friday at 2:25 p.m. (Central time), with the finals set for Saturday at 3:40 p.m. (Central). The men's 5,000-meter run will be held on Friday at 3:45 p.m. (Central).
Hookom qualified with the 16th-best time among the 20 national championships competitors in the women's 400-meter dash, a personal-best 57.01-second time set on March 1 in
winning the event at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. It's her third straight time reaching nationals in the 400;
she finished in 18th place in 57.67 seconds in 2024 and in
20th place in 59.71 seconds in 2023. In her track and field career, Hookom has won four MIAC championships, and has earned All-MIAC (top three) finishes seven times, while earning All-MIAC Honorable Mention (places 4 to 6) finishes twice. She won both the 400- and 600-meter dashes at the 2024 MIAC Championships, earning
co-MIAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors.
Bati enters the men's 5,000-meter dash with the eighth-fastest time among the 20 competitors in the event, a
school-record and MIAC all-time indoor record 14:15.33 time set on Jan. 24 at the St. Olaf Invitational.
He won the MIAC indoor championship for the second time in his career on Feb. 28 with a 14:38.06 effort, while finishing second in the 3,000-meter run in 8:23.52. He has won four conference titles in his career. Bati has had a remarkable 2024-25 school year; in cross country in the fall, he won the
MIAC men's title for the third straight year,
won the NCAA North Region title and
placed second at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
