Redshirts senior Aziza Chigatayeva traveled to Austin, Texas to compete in the 3000 steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend for the first time in her career after failing to qualify for the meet in her previous three outdoor seasons. Although Chigatayeva failed to qualify for the finals, she is the first-ever Binghamton athlete to compete in the 3000 steeplechase on a national level.

“We’re super proud of [Chigatayeva] making the national meet,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “She’s had an outstanding career … all of her accolades certainly show that she’s been super consistently competitive for us over the past five years … we could not be more proud.”

On Thursday evening, Chigatayeva competed in the semifinals of the 3000 steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, looking to capture a spot in the finals. She ran in the second of two 12-runner heats with the top five runners in each heat and the next two fastest times qualifying for the finals on Saturday. Chigatayeva earned an 11th-place finish in her heat with a time of 10:22.86, which earned her 22nd place overall.

“[Chigatayeva’s] strategy going in was just to stay as close as she could to the top seven, top eight,” Acuff said. “We knew her heat was going to be pretty fast … unfortunately she just didn’t have her best day. She didn’t feel great.”

With her 22nd place finish overall, Chigatayeva did not qualify for the finals, but she ultimately received an All-American honorable mention honor to conclude her decorated career at Binghamton. Chigatayeva is the third female Binghamton track and field athlete to earn All-American honors at the Division I level. Past Binghamton All-Americans include Emily Mackay and Keishorea Armstrong, who each received numerous All-American designations.

“She’s got a bright future ahead of her,” Acuff said. “As a coach, I’m really going to miss her leadership … she’s been a lot of fun and she’s got a great sense of humor, so I’ll miss that a lot.”

Despite not making the final, Chigatayeva expressed her pride in the way she ended her career and was grateful about having the opportunity to run her final race on a national stage at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

“Getting to the national meet is the hardest part,” Chigatayeva said. “So just getting there is a pretty big achievement … it’s an indescribable experience. It [was] just an honor to be participating and competing in such an elite field.”

Chigatayeva concludes her track and field career as a four-time NCAA East Region Meet qualifier and a four-time America East (AE) champion in the 3000 steeplechase. Additionally, she captured five individual AE track and field titles in the span of her entire Binghamton career.

“There’s a lot of pressure, but pressure is a privilege,” Chigatayeva said. “I’m pretty impressed with how well I’ve done throughout the years and how consistent I’ve stayed, despite all of the things that I had going on.”

Chigatayeva also highlighted the abundance of support she has received throughout her career at Binghamton, from the coaching staff to her teammates.

“[I’m really going to miss] the community,” Chigatayeva said. “There’s just so much support. A lot of the people that I’m graduating with this year, I’ve known since my freshman year, and we’ve gone through kind of all of college together and grown up so I’m definitely going to miss that … I’m going to miss the staff, all the coaches, the trainers and my teammates.”

With Chigatayeva’s Binghamton career coming to an end, she mentioned that she would continue to run competitively and push her limits, knowing that she would always have her support system at Binghamton University.

“I’m going to be working full time, and I’m still going to compete, and I’m still going to run,” Chigatayeva said. “I’m going to give it a few more years as long as I can manage it because I still think that there’s a lot of potential.”