Nick Lyndaker: DIII Champ 

Student Named National Champion 

On March 15, Nick Lyndaker ’26 etched his name into the St. Lawrence University history books. Lyndaker slingshotted around the final turn of the 200-meter oval at Nazareth University and leaned across the line to win the 2025 Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship in the one-mile run. Lyndaker is the first SLU Track & Field national champion in almost 15 years. 

While before this, Lyndaker could call himself many things, including a four-time Liberty League Champion, school record holder in three different events, and a Cross Country All-American, he could now officially call himself the most prestigious title in college athletics: a national champion. 

I officially met Lyndaker on a sunny August morning in 2022. We were up early to run our four-kilometer time trial, which is a yearly event that marks the start of the SLU cross-country season. Lyndaker was a freshman at his first collegiate cross-country practice, and while we had all heard of this local kid with all-American parents, we had no idea what to expect. Lyndaker finished in the middle of the pack that day – starting his SLU Saints running career in a relatively unassuming manner. 

“My first real hard effort with the team was a time trial, and I think I ended up around the middle of the team, maybe 11th or 12th?” Lyndaker said. “It’s cool to look back on how far I’ve come as a college runner.” 

I also beat him that day, which is a fact I still bring up every so often when we reminisce about his early days as a SLU Saint. 

Fast forward about two-and-a-half years later, and I was standing on the edge of the Nazareth indoor track, watching Lyndaker sprint down the home stretch in a bid to win a national championship. 

While Lyndaker started his St. Lawrence cross-country career somewhat slow, he quickly emerged as one of the top runners in the program. His first breakout race was the 2022 Cross Country Mideast Regional, when he qualified for nationals on the SLU home course. Since that day, he has never looked back, consistently improving each season en route to school records, Liberty League championships, and All-American awards. 

However, in the winter of 2024-25, he took things to a new level. While boasting personal best times of 4:11.99 in the mile, 8:13.87 in the 3000m, and 14:16.16 in the 5k, he had never qualified for a track national championship meet before. This indoor season, in his first big meet, he ran an impressive 8:10.14 in the 3000, then the next week ran an astoundingly fast 4:03.36, obliterating his own school record by over eight seconds and placing him as the 10th-best miler in Division III history. 

This easily qualified him for indoor track and field nationals in both the mile and the 3000, which were contested on March 14 and 15 at Nazareth. The first day – Friday, March 14 – was the preliminary round of the mile, where the 20-man nationals field would be cut in half, as only 10 advance to the next day’s final. Ideally, prelims are uneventful, easy and simple tune-ups for the final. For Lyndaker, it was slightly more difficult due to running being a contact sport that day. 

“The prelim was very stressful,” said Lyndaker. “It was the most physical race I have ever been a part of and people were throwing ‘bows like crazy. But I managed to hold my ground and advance to the final.” 

After advancing, Lyndaker stuck to his usual routine to recover from the prelim and get ready to go all out for the final. “The prep for the final was just like any other race,” he said. “More norma-tecing, rolling out and stretching than normal, but really it was just like any other race.” 

Going into the final, Lyndaker’s goal was to compete for all-American, which is top eight in the race. The race got off to a controlled start, and Lyndaker was in the top group heading into the final lap. 

“The race felt so good,” said Lyndaker. “I felt comfortable pretty much the entire time, and even with 200 meters to go, I knew I had another gear left in me.” 

The finish was almost as close as could be between the top three runners and after crossing the line, the result was still up in the air. 

“We crossed the line, and nobody knew who won,” Lyndaker said. “All three of us crossed the line so close we were all just looking up at the results board, hoping to see our name pop up first. Luckily, my lean at the line did it, and it was probably the most excited I have ever been. Just pure joy.” 

Ultimately, Lyndaker won the national championship by 0.03 seconds, one of the closest results in the mile in DIII championship history. Lyndaker was the first SLU track & field athlete to win a national championship since Eric Jones in the weight throw in 2010 and the first to win it on the track since Tim McCrossen in the 400m in 1987. 

With the location of the meet being in Rochester, New York, which is only around three hours from SLU and my hometown, it’s safe to say Lyndaker had one of the better fan squads at the packed meet. “I can’t even explain how loud it was in that facility,” he said. With the mile being the premier event in track, people had been waiting all day for the fun to finally go off. Having 20 plus family and friends there too was awesome.” 

Usually, after a national meet the athletes that competed spend the rest of the day traveling home or hanging out alone in a hotel room. Due to the proximity of Rochester to SLU, however, Nick got to celebrate his victory with his close friends. 

“Having the meet in Rochester was awesome because many of my friends were able to come to the meet and hang out together after the race,” said Lyndaker. It was very special to spend the rest of the day with the people who helped me get to where I am as a runner.” 

With the indoor track now in the rearview mirror, Lyndaker is on to the outdoor track, where he is ready for another spectacular season. His training has been going well, and he has set some solid goals for his outdoor season.

“The goal right now for outdoor is to hit a national qualifying time and hope some magic happens late in the season again,” the ever-humble Lyndaker said. “I like to not put expectations on myself, but leaving nationals with an All-American at nationals would be amazing.”