Robert Iron Shell prepares for NAIA National Championships.
Robert Iron Shell leaves mark at National Championships
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Staff Writer
www.nsweekly.com GULF SHORES, Ala. –– Rosebud Sioux Tribal Member and Briar Cliff University (BCU) track and field athlete, Robert Iron Shell, was recently named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Midwest Region Athlete of the Year. On May 25-28, Iron Shell competed in the NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala., held at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium where he finished National Runner-Up in the 400m race and placed sixth in the 4X100m race along with his Chargers teammates from Briar Cliff University. In his career at Briar Cliff, Iron Shell has set and broke records in several events in indoor and outdoor track and field competitions. While running in events in 2014, Iron Shell helped break the BCU Indoor school record in the 4X4 clocking a time of 3:14.83 during the prelims of the national meet, according to BCU’s website. The 2014 Outdoor season was a great success for the Sicangu runner. Competing in five events, Iron Shell set several school records while qualifying for nationals. He was named All-American at the NAIA Nationals. The time of 47.37 seconds was a record he set in the 400 meter dash after breaking his own record twice before in the same season. In the 2015 Indoor and Outdoor seasons, Iron Shell continued the success of the previous year with All-American honors and placing respectively at both the NAIA and GPAC Championships. In a May 2016 social media post, Robert Iron Shell, a humble Lakota man, said to his friends and family, “I remember as a kid reading about Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills and dreaming of even being a fraction of that great.” The Briar Cliff University star athlete continues in the Facebook post, “So I’ve done the research, and it may not seem like much, but it’s very meaningful to me and I’m extremely privileged to be able to say that I now own the fastest 100 meter time (10.46) run by a Native American!”
Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: Robert Iron Shell leaves mark at National Championships (Contact Richie Richards at staffwriter@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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