Augustana University Athletics

In the spring of 1993, Chris Silva helped me write an history entry in the annals of Augustana track and field. Competing at the Drake Relays, the Vikings' distance medley team set a school record with a winning time of 10:00.85. It was the first time an Augie team had won an event in the prestigious meet.

Individually, Chris was also a record setter. Indoors, he twice won the North Central Conference 800-meter run posting times of 1:54.64 in 1989, and 1:52.49 in 1990. He also won the 500-meter run in 1991 in 1:04.40. In 1990 he won the 800 at the NCC outdoor meet in 1:50.89, a conference record, and repeated in 1993 with a time of 1:51.03.

Nationally, he twice won the 800 at the NCAA Division II indoor championships. He posted a time of 1:52.55 in 1990 at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion to become just the second Viking to win at the national level. He repeated in 1991 and narrowly missed setting an NCAA record in the process. Overall, Chris was All-America five times.

When called upon, Chris stepped out of his comfort zone to help his teammates. In 1991 he was a member of the Cross Country team that captured the college's first NCC championship. He said, "My biggest race on a personal basis was actually at the Cross Country Nationals in Eureka, CA when I placed 65th out of about 250 runners. I was definitely more of a track guy; however, I really enjoyed the endurance of cross country and pushed myself that year to contribute to our overall points and placement in the meet. We had a great team of guys and gals on both our cross country and track teams throughout the years I attended Augustana. The friendships I made throughout my athletic career are what I have taken with me. My most memorable coach at Augustana was Rob Kinnunen."

He also has fond memories of the 1991 NCC Indoor Track Meet. He wrote, "Both coaches (Vance Butler and Rob Kinnunen) wanted Matt Kiesow and I to run 3 events in order to score the most points for the team. I ran the 500 meters and had less than fifteen minutes rest before I ran the 800 meters. After winning the 500, I came back to take 2nd place in the 800 in a close race. About 45 minutes later, Matt and I ran 1:54 splits in the 4 x 800 meters to win the final event. It was an exhausting meet, but we were able to place 3rd in the conference as a team that year."