Madut named All-American
Leah Rado • The Daily Republic

Thomas Madut

Thomas Madut has been a mainstay on the cross country and track programs for the past four years at Dakota Wesleyan. The senior has received numerous all-Great Plains Athletic Conference and all-region honors in both sports, but the distance runner saved the best performance of his college career for last.

Madut, a Sioux Falls native and Sioux Falls Lincoln graduate, surprised everyone when he took third in the marathon at the NAIA outdoor track and field championships Saturday in Marion, Ind. The third-place finish also earned him automatic All-American honors, making him the first outdoor All-American at DWU since 2004.

“We were thinking (he would finish) in the top 15, top 10, somewhere in there,” DWU track coach Pat Belling said Monday afternoon. “If he got anything more than that, it would be a pleasant surprise. We were very, very, very pleased. I really can’t even describe it.”

In his second appearance at the national outdoor meet, Madut completed the marathon in 2:33:42.6, which also set a DWU record. Madut said that before the race, he and assistant coach Casey Collins had talked about strategy, and that strategy paid off. He said his goal was to be patient, and that after jumping out to the front of the pack and running with the leaders for the first half mile, he settled down and picked a group to run with.

Pat Belling

Casey Collins

Madut checked his pace every mile, and said it was consistently between five minutes, 30 seconds and six minutes. Between mile 13 and 14, he was in the top 20. By mile 16, he had found his way into the top 16. When he got to the 20th mile, Madut was in the top seven.

“By then, I was closing in on every person in front of me,” he said. “By (mile 24), I was in fourth place, and I passed a few people, and I continued to run with them, but I didn’t want to stay with them. I passed them and kept going. I thought, ‘If they’re close, I’m not going to look back. I’m looking in front of me; that’s where I need to go.’ ”

Once he got to mile 25, Madut knew third place was as good as his. So did his coaches. “When we saw him at the halfway point, he was 19th or 20th, and he was looking relaxed,” Belling said. “At mile 24, we saw the first-place guy come through, then second place, then the third-place guy, and he was hurting pretty bad.

“In the distance, here comes Thomas Madut and we just went crazy. He was looking awesome and smiling and waving. I know for a fact I and coach Collins will never forget it.” Madut said his teammates and coaches started cheering and yelling for him around mile 25, and that kept him going until the end.

“At mile 25, everyone was hollering and screaming,” he said. “They were saying, ‘OK, bring it home.’ People were laughing. I was having fun. People were telling me how I looked strong and was running a good race. I was so excited, and I was happy.”

The Master’s University’s Jeff Jackson won the race in 2:31:44.3, and Mike Aitken of Lindenwood University took second in 2:33:14.4.

Madut, who plans to continue to run road races, marathons and hopefully make the U.S. Olympic team someday in the near future, said he knew this had to be his best collegiate performance because it would be his last. “I told myself, ‘You have no second chances,’ ” he said. “No more second seasons. This was my last season. I said, ‘When I’m done today, I’ll be graduating from college running.’ That gave me encouragement. It wasn’t easy, but I had so much fun that it didn’t even feel like I was actually working hard.”

Belling said Madut’s finish is something all DWU alum should be proud of, and a big step for the Tiger track program.

“After the race, Casey and I and the kids got on our phones and were calling anyone who would answer at 9 a.m.,” he said. “Every single ounce of credit goes to coach Collins. He came in and got Thomas and the rest of the kids to do what they’ve done. I’m very happy and very proud of Thomas, and I’m very, very proud of coach Collins and I’m very happy for him. He deserves this.”