Molly Seidel Drops 15:19 5k At ACCs, 4th In NCAA History!
Molly Seidel Drops 15:19 5k At ACCs, 4th In NCAA History!
Any question as to who the favorite will be in next month's NCAA 5k was put to rest on Friday as Notre Dame’s Molly Seidel blasted a 15:19.64 at the ACC Cha
Any question as to who the favorite will be in next month's NCAA 5k was put to rest on Friday as Notre Dame’s Molly Seidel blasted a 15:19.64 at the ACC Championships in Boston, slotting the senior into fourth all-time in NCAA history.
The time puts Seidel behind only Emily Sisson (15:12.22), Kim Smith (15:14.18), and Sonia O’Sullivan (15:17.28) in collegiate history.
The two-time NCAA champion set her previous 15:47.07 PR just two weeks ago at Iowa State, but that time was nowhere near indicative of Seidel’s true ability as she held back to work with teammate Anna Rohrer, seemingly content to just qualify for NCAAs. Tonight’s performance, however, provided an accurate measure of her 5k fitness, a sign that she’ll be awfully tough to beat in both the 3k and 5k in two weeks at Nationals.
Seidel’s epic run serves as a nice appetizer ahead of another highly anticipated matchup with Boise State’s Allie Ostrander.
The freshman, who finished second behind Seidel at NCAA XC, figures to be the only woman capable of stopping Seidel in Birmingham. Ostrander’s only two races this season— a 15:21 5k and 8:54 3k— represented the top marks in both distances entering the weekend.
The freshman Rohrer was very impressive herself on Friday night, finishing runner-up in 15:32.03, making her the ninth-fastest woman in NCAA history.
In other ACC action, Syracuse’s Justyn Knight used a blistering 25.57 last lap (Editor’s Note: 25.57!!) to just slip past Virginia Tech’s Thomas Curtin in the men’s 5k, 14:01.70 to 14:01.78.
The time puts Seidel behind only Emily Sisson (15:12.22), Kim Smith (15:14.18), and Sonia O’Sullivan (15:17.28) in collegiate history.
The two-time NCAA champion set her previous 15:47.07 PR just two weeks ago at Iowa State, but that time was nowhere near indicative of Seidel’s true ability as she held back to work with teammate Anna Rohrer, seemingly content to just qualify for NCAAs. Tonight’s performance, however, provided an accurate measure of her 5k fitness, a sign that she’ll be awfully tough to beat in both the 3k and 5k in two weeks at Nationals.
Seidel’s epic run serves as a nice appetizer ahead of another highly anticipated matchup with Boise State’s Allie Ostrander.
The freshman, who finished second behind Seidel at NCAA XC, figures to be the only woman capable of stopping Seidel in Birmingham. Ostrander’s only two races this season— a 15:21 5k and 8:54 3k— represented the top marks in both distances entering the weekend.
The freshman Rohrer was very impressive herself on Friday night, finishing runner-up in 15:32.03, making her the ninth-fastest woman in NCAA history.
In other ACC action, Syracuse’s Justyn Knight used a blistering 25.57 last lap (Editor’s Note: 25.57!!) to just slip past Virginia Tech’s Thomas Curtin in the men’s 5k, 14:01.70 to 14:01.78.
.@justyn_knight closes in 25.57 in the men's 5k! for the win over Curtin! #ACCITF pic.twitter.com/juHmr5aDDd
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 27, 2016