Aparna Nancherla '04 capped off her breakthrough season by finishing 58th overall and third on the team. After four weeks of not racing because of an injury, Emily Lobsenz '02 returned to run a season-best performance of 18:52, good enough for fourth on the team. She was closely followed by fellow seniors Becca Woo, Diana Rancourt and captain Molly Burnett.
The National Championships were the pinnacle of a great season for Coach Erik Nedeau and his runners. Indeed, this day was their moment to shine. "You've got to put it all on the line at this race, there's nothing after it," said Rancourt.
The Amherst women showed they were ready to do just that when the race started. After the gun went off, they ran to the front of the pack. Hamill ran solidly, staying in the top 20 the entire race. Nelson hung with the pack and ran an amazing last mile to finish right behind her teammate Hamill.
But the quick pace was too much for some of the Amherst runners. Woo and Rancourt felt the combined effects of the heat and front running before the race was done. However, both finished higher this year in the championship race than they had last year.
Lobsenz also improved on her finish from last year with a strong third mile that put her into 129th place with a time of 18:52.
"I feel like I'm on cloud nine," said Nelson after the race. Along the way to being named an All-American, she set a personal record by a whopping 24 seconds. The time was all the more impressive considering that the Rock Island course is more difficult than many of the courses the Jeffs had run earlier in the season.
Hamill was the third freshman to cross the line overall but had to work to reach that standing. "I've never felt so tired in a race. Our super fans really helped keep me going," said Hamill.
This inspiration must have helped her at the end of the race, when she found herself in a pack of nine runners. But a strong finishing kick put her in front of the group and secured her 18th place in the field. Nelson was the next to cross the line of nine runners, who all finished in a three second span.
Burnett completed her season and career with a hard-fought race, finishing in 19:10. "This was one of the greatest experiences of my life," she said. "Running at Nationals was just amazing. I love this team."
Coach Nedeau was very pleased with his team's performance. "Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get top 10, and we accomplished that," said Nedeau. "While it is going to be difficult to replace the losses from graduation, I am quite optimistic when thinking about next year, considering that our top three runners are all coming back."
Nedeau went on to praise the trio of returning runners. "Carter and Martha both finishing as All-Americans, and Aparna racing great the entire second half of the season really gave us a much needed boost," said Nedeau.
"The seniors have laid the foundation for great success, and the underclassmen are showing that they are willing to continue and accomplish even greater things," Nedeau eagerly continued.
The individual champion of the women's race was Dana Boyle of the University Of Puget Sound. Her time of 16:46 was an impressive 26 seconds ahead of the second place finisher.
The Middlebury College women's team repeated as champions this year, led by Panther Michela Adrian, who finished eighth overall.
Paced by Jenn Campbell and her third place finish, Williams College grabbed second place in the overall team competition for the second consecutive year.