SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Trinity Smith's endurance was put to the ultimate test Sunday, and the senior distance runner responded by showcasing the strong finishing ability that has defined her Midway career.

Smith rallied to a sixth-place finalist in the women's race at the NAIA Marathon Classic on Sunday, earning herself All-American honors at the race for the second year in a row. 

She finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 40 seconds. She finished sixth in the same race in 2023 but made a considerable improvement time-wise, cutting her time from 3 hours, 5 minutes.

At the first marker five kilometers in, Smith was in 12th place and she continued to inch forward the rest of the way. She crept up to 11th-place 10K in before cracking the top-10 at the next mark.

Then, with less than five kilometers remaining, Smith made her final charge into sixth place, where she would finish just 11 seconds behind Carlyn Bobo of Montreat (N.C.) for fifth. Smith finished at a pace of 6 minutes, 49 seconds per-mile.

She was one of two Eagle women to compete at the Marathon Classic. The other, Riley Gillis, placed 36th in 3:41.33.

SEE ALSO: Jacob Kocis wraps Midway career as NAIA Marathon All-American