NAU put four distance women in the finals of the NCAA Outdoors Nationals Saturday in Eugene, Ore., and though none won an event, all were competitive and finished in the top 10 of their respective races.
In the 1,500 meters, dominated by Harvard’s Maia Ramsden, Congdon moved to the outside in the second lap and settled in behind Providence’s Shannon Flockhart mid-pack. But the pace got too swift for Congdon to make a move, as Ramsden and Florida’s Flomena Asekol took off for a 61-second lap. Congdon held off North Carolina State’s Samantha Bush to secure ninth place.
One event later, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, NAU freshman Karrie Baloga, coming off a personal best in Thursday’s semifinals, also found herself in steep competition in the finals. Baloga fluctuated between sixth and seventh throughout and finished eighth, despite running another PB, 9:42.22, Fellow freshman Doris Lemnogle of Alabama won in 9:15.24, earning the Olympic standard, as did second place finisher Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame.
Baloga came within 1.2 seconds of gaining the Olympic Trials standard in the steeple and set the American U-20 record.
The evening’s last race, the 5,000 meters, Florida’s Parker Valby came within .18 of the 14:52 Olympic standard in her dominant victory. NAU’s Annika Reiss and Gracelyn Larkin, both seniors, started conservatively, leading the “second pack” of 12 runners in the first mile. As the field spread out, Reiss and Larkin moved up. Reiss finished ninth in 15:30.64, a personal best by nearly three seconds, and Larkin 10th in 15:32.82.
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