Shields started a 30-month contract at Purdue in August last year and made a big impact when he finished tenth at the Great Lakes regional 10km cross-country championships, in 31min 22.20sec.
It was a personal best time in a cross-country event by a minute.
This performance qualified him to become the first Purdue University male runner to advance to the NCAA championships since Bob Stolz competed in 1987.
Shields, like most New Zealand runners who have university scholarships in the US, took time to adjust to the conditions.
He was in and out of the Purdue team all season due to illness.
At the NCAA cross-country championship at Indiana State University yesterday, Shields finished a disappointing 132nd in the 10km race, crossing the line in 31min 13.8sec.
Shields has been Purdue's top performer in cross-country and over the longer distances during the past 12 months.
In addition to qualifying for the NCAA championships, he ran a sub 30min 10km (29min 56sec) on the track at the Penn Relays earlier this year.
"Caden has thrived in the focused running environment at Purdue, doing well at his studies and also in races," his Dunedin-based coach, Richard Barker, said.
"Caden's biggest virtue is his ability to work hard and push himself."
Shields' training at Purdue University is similar to what he was doing in Dunedin when he regularly ran 160km a week at a strong aerobic pace.
He kept interval work to a minimum.
"Before heading to Purdue, Caden was a regular on the 32km Waitati circuit and it gave him a solid base on which his Purdue coach, Conor Holt, has been able to build," Barker said.
"Although Caden was disappointed in not finishing higher today, I thought it was a great achievement making the championships and one he should be proud of.
"As the distances get longer and harder, Caden's strength will come into play and we should see more top results in the future."
Purdue University has 39,000 students and is in the city of West Lafayette, in Indiana, in the Midwest.
It is one of the top 10 academic universities in the United States.
