College Track & Field: Roseburg’s Carter Stedman runs for SOU at NAIA national championships

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — When Carter Stedman steps on the track at the University of North Carolina Asheville for the men’s 5,000 meter national championship race Friday afternoon, it will be a moment he planned for, but not one he expected.

“It’s not anywhere I thought I would be at this point in my life, for sure, but you know, I have the opportunity. I’ve worked really hard to get here, and at this point, it’s just about taking advantage of it,” Stedman said ahead of his race from his hotel room in Asheville.

The 2023 Roseburg High School graduate is now a college junior and in his first year at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. He earned his way to the NAIA Outdoor Championships by virtue of his third place finish in the 5K at the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) on May 9.

“We went to LaGrande a couple weeks ago, and I ran really well there (at the CCC championships). And so I think just kind of carrying that momentum at a championship meet from a conference level to a national level is something that’s really important,” Stedman said.

Stedman is seeded 12th in a field of 20 with his personal best time of 14 minutes, 28 seconds set earlier this spring. He’s confident going into the race and has had previous success on the national stage after a fourth place finish in the NAIA cross country championships during the fall.

Many of Stedman’s competitors were also slated to run in the men’s 10K, which got pushed from Wednesday to Thursday due to weather. The schedule change could prove to be a boost to Stedman’s chances.

“I think the strategy tomorrow is probably a little different. I’m not usually someone that’s super aggressive in the early stages of the race. I like to kind of sit out, feel the pace, and then close hard. But I think knowing there’s going to be seven or eight guys that are going to be towards the front of the pack, but have 10k already in their legs, probably is going to change the way I race just a little bit,” Stedman said.

The men’s 5,000 meter championship race is set to go off at 1:55 p.m. PST. The race can be watched live through NAIA.org.