MARION, Ind. –Battling uncomfortable blisters down the stretch, Haskell junior Thomas Zunie persevered and earned a 22^nd place finish in 2:46.19 at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.

Zunie was one of only 40 student-athletes who crossed the finish line Saturday morning out of the 54 who first started the race. Zunie's counterpart, freshman Talisa Budder had to leave the race during the 22^nd mile due to persistent pain in her lower back. The first-time marathon runner had been battling back pain in the days leading up to the race and tried to push through it during the 26.2 miles.

"Both of them are very tough mentally, but the pain was probably too much for Talisa to go on." thought Haskell head track and field coach Al Gipp.

As for Zunie's aches and pains, they appeared around the 14^th mile marker. That's when Coach Gipp sprang into action and gave his some much needed medical attention.

"He started getting blisters about then so we had to get him some Band-Aids." Gipp explained.

While Zunie was getting bandaged up, his coach estimated that close to eight or 10 runners passed the three-time Nationals qualifier, which put him about 10-minutes off of his target time of 2:35.00. Despite the extra time, Gipp was pleased with the Zuni, N.M. native's effort through a trying last few miles.

Both athletes will head back to Kansas tomorrow with their coach and rest for a few weeks before hitting the pavement yet again.

"It will probably take two and a half weeks for them to recover," Gipp explained. "At first their mindset will be that they need to go out and run but they are just not going to feel like it."

Gipp said his athletes will likely engage in cross-training or water activities before putting on their running shoes and pacing themselves again.