Breaking a program record once made Danny Olsen happy.
Breaking it again made him happier.
Olsen ran 46.46 seconds in the 400 meters during the preliminaries of the Big East Championships the weekend of May 15-17. A day later, the sophomore from Marist became the Golden Eagles’ first Big East champion, running 46.21 in the 400 at UConn.
“It was an experience,” Olsen said. “Did I expect to break it to the level I did? No, not really. Heading into the meet, I was about .5 seconds slower than the actual program record. I knew that I had it in me, but I didn’t think I would actually break it and also win gold as well.
“In the prelim race when I broke it and went 46.46, I thought, ‘Oh, I can definitely do some more damage and possibly win it the following day,’ and I did just that. Words can’t describe it honestly. It was a feeling I wish I could go back and experience again. Before I crossed the line, I had my arms stretched out. It was something else.”
As the outdoor season began in late March, the Evergreen Park resident prepared a list of all the things he wished to accomplish.
Olsen concluded his season by competing in the first round of the NCAA West Meet at Texas A&M on May 28. He posted a time of 46.48 in the 400. Olsen, who had the 47th-best time coming into the first round, finished 25th.
“I had a couple of goals and being a Big East champion was one of them,” Olsen said. “Qualifying for nationals also was another one.
“There are a lot of great names who have run through Marquette history. It’s been a lot of fun to be around here. To break the record and also be the first conference champ, it means a lot to me. I’m hoping in the future, we’ll have more guys come in and do the exact same thing. I’m hoping I can be a start of something special both in the 400 meter and program-wise.”
Olsen appreciated the support from his coaches and teammates.
“Right after the 400, my coach (Bert Rogers) ran up to me and picked me up,” Olsen said. “He’s a very tall dude and I got lifted up two feet off the ground and I was like, ‘Wow.’ He was super-excited and my friends were really excited.
“I have a great group of teammates and they were cheering for me the whole way. When I stepped on the podium, I have a video of them and they were just screaming their heads off and that was so awesome to hear. They were super-supportive and (it’s) just a super-great group of people that I’m surrounded by.”
● Illinois Wesleyan senior men’s golfer Quinn Clifford (Brother Rice) was named to the 2025 NCAA Division III PING All-Region V Team. Clifford was one of five Titans honored.
Clifford also helped IWU finish second in the NCAA Division III national tournament with a 72-hole team score of 1,180. Earlier this spring, Clifford was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Student-Athlete of the Week for April 28 as he earned medalist honors in the 116-player field at Millikin’s Take Back the Night Challenge.