(Photo Courtesy of SAU Athletics)

Brookings, South Dakota was the home of the NAIA national championships for track and field in 2024, and the Bees went to make some noise to end the indoor track season. Staying in Brookings for a whole week couldn’t have been easy for these student-athletes as they were away from friends and their homes on campus. Still, the trip was made a little easier as SAU runners were able to break multiple school records on the biggest stage and secure their spots on the men’s and women’s all-american teams respectively.

Senior sprinter Gabriella Butler is no stranger to the big stage as she had run on the Brookings track the previous season and was looking to continue her success. “I came into the season pretty strong, ready to pick up where I left off last year.” After a long off-season filled with time in the weight room and time on the track, she says it took a lot of faith in her coach and her teammates to help push her to become a better runner than she ever had before. “That trust helped us build a relationship and made me feel stronger because I feel that my coach also has confidence in me.” 

Butler knew exactly what she had to do when she first stepped onto the track in South Dakota and was “confident” and ready to “attack the race.” Even though there were some nerves facing all of the other top-tier athletes across the country at the NAIA level in one place, everybody on the SAU team knew what they had to do. Some of that comes from your coach but the other pieces are from your teammates encouraging you to be better and to have a great mindset.

Butler understands that better than almost anyone as her voice is “always the one that rings louder than others when people are running, jumping, throwing, etc.” Sophomore pole vaulter Ryleigh Warden adds, “I love watching her succeed at what she does. She is such a hardworking individual and constantly pushes the team to be better.” 

This makes it no surprise that when Butler got into her stance for her preliminary race on Friday, anybody wearing SAU blue and white turned their heads; even someone like Warden who was competing in her own event. “I made sure to cheer her on as she ran and look at her times as they came up on the board.” 

Having already reset her own school record in the 200m dash earlier in the night Butler’s confidence level was very high. The only thing left for Butler was to give it everything she had to solidify her spot in the final race the next day. She knew that she had it in her but was super excited as she crossed the finish line and looked up at the board. She had set the school record in the 400m event with a time of 55.02 seconds. Everybody was excited but Butler knew she had more in her and wasn’t quite done yet. 

The very next day was her final race of the indoor season, no matter where she placed in the event. Knowing this, Butler said she was a little nervous as she approached the starting blocks. Even though her coach was there with her on the sideline, encouraging her and reminding her that both of them knew that they’d gone over every step of the 400m she needed to run. 

As the race began, she exploded out of the blocks running with every ounce of her body trying to empty the tank. Repeating in her head “Don’t give up, don’t give up.” She made her four turns and realized she was falling a little behind her competitors. She didn’t win the event as she came up just short and finished in fourth place. Even so, her teammates congratulated her efforts and as she looked up at the board to see her time, it was still something to be proud of. Her time was 54.09 seconds, the first sub-55-second 400m dash in St. Ambrose program history.

Her teammate Warden was able to find her “as soon as she was done competing and congratulated her, giving her a big hug.” Many of her teammates did the same as they wanted to congratulate the new Bees record holder for the women’s 400m. The track team group chat was buzzed with excitement when more and more people heard the news. When a great teammate and person like Butler succeeds her fellow athletes want to give back the same encouragement, they got from her all year.

Not only did Gabriella Butler make SAU history, but she did exactly what she wanted and gave it her all. Celebrated by her teammates and receiving the title of all-american she has a lot to be proud of when she takes a moment to reflect on her journey this year. “I think the indoor season could not have gone any better. I had a few setbacks, but I didn’t let those things stop me from making it to nationals and competing with the best. Indoor season brought a lot of memories that I will hold with me forever.”