Over the weekend, redshirt seniors Emily Mackay and Dan Schaffer traveled to Eugene, Oregon to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. After winning the 1500-meter preliminary to qualify for the finals, Mackay went on to place sixth, clinching her fifth Division I All-American honor. Schaffer placed 24th overall in the men’s 5K to earn his first honorable mention All-American honors.

“It’s been a very successful year for [Mackay and Schaffer],” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “They crushed the record books. The number of school records that we broke this year … I think that’s something I’m just super proud of.”

On Thursday afternoon, Mackay raced in the preliminary heat with an opportunity to qualify for the 1500-meter finals on Saturday. With the top five runners qualifying, the Bearcat posted a time of 4:21.44 to win the race outright. This qualified her to compete in the finals for the second straight year at the national meet.

In the finals, Mackay clocked in a time of 4:11.10 to come in at sixth overall. The redshirt senior captured her fifth Division I All-American honor, the most of any Binghamton athlete in program history. Additionally, Mackay broke her own record in the 1500-meter race that she set at the NCAA East Region Meet two weeks ago. The Bearcat’s time was just under two seconds behind the first-place finisher.

“Sixth is outstanding for [Mackay],” Acuff said. “She was first-team All-American, that was a personal best time for her, so we were very pleased with that … Really excited for her, I think that was a great finish [to] her career.”

After placing sixth at the NCAA East Region Meet two weeks ago, Schaffer made it to the national meet for the first time in his career. This was the third time he competed at regionals and posted a time of 13:39.27 in the 5K.

“[Schaffer] had a great race,” Acuff said. “We were so excited for him to finally make the national meet and get a chance to compete with some of the top distance runners in the country … I couldn’t be happier for him to finish his career at the national meet.”

Schaffer raced in the men’s 5K on Friday night and placed 24th with a time of 14:00.65. Before this, Schaffer had yet to earn Division I All-American honors, but his 24th place finish was able to rectify that. The redshirt senior became the 16th All-American in Binghamton’s NCAA Division I history.

“Dan wanted to feel a little bit better [at nationals],” Acuff said. “But he felt like he gave it everything that he had and that was the best he had on Friday night … Not every race is perfect.”

Schaffer ends his collegiate career with an impressive list of accomplishments. He earned All-Northeast Region in cross country twice and qualified for the NCAA East Region Outdoor Track Meet three times. Additionally, the Bearcat is an eight-time America East (AE) track and field champion and won the cross country championship in 2021.

Mackay ends her Binghamton career with a pair of first-team All-American honors in outdoor track. During the indoor track season, Mackay earned second-team All-American honors in the mile and the women’s 3K. Her other All-American honor was earned at the 2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Meet, where she placed 14th.

“The efforts they put in to continue to build the program and leave their mark on Binghamton athletics,” Acuff said. “They’re gonna be dearly missed, that’s for sure.”