TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- First-year Simone Childs-Walker (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) earned All-America honors with her third-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Her performance came one day after fellow rookie Clare Franco (Brunswick, Maine) placed 12th in the 400 meter dash at the meet hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
This is the 12th time that a Carleton woman earned All-America distinction at the national indoor meet and the first since Sandra Helquist in 2000. Childs-Walker finished with a time of 17:04.02, smashing her own school record established just last week at the MIAC Indoor Championships.
“I’m so proud of Simone,” said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. “She perfectly executed her race plan.”With 15 entrants in the race, Childs-Walker found herself last with about a mile remaining. According to plan, that’s when she made her move and began to catch and pass runners, moving up the pack with each trip around the track. Her last few laps were among the fastest in the field at any point of the race.
“The key for her was how great she ran from behind,” said Ricks. “She didn’t panic.”
Leading up to this weekend’s race, the coaching staff explained to Childs-Walker that Carleton’s Laura Bloedorn had used a similar race strategy at the 2003 national meet.
“I felt good. I was getting the splits from the coaches, so I knew I didn’t need to run faster [at the start],” said Childs-Walker. “I’m pretty confident in my kick.”
While she was the lone rookie runner in the event, Childs-Walker already had national championship experience, having finished 61st out of 279 runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championship held in November 2008 at Hanover College (Ind.).
“I was pretty nervous going in,” Childs-Walker admitted. “I had to remind myself that the other racers were nervous, too. I settled down after I recognized people from the national cross country meet and friends on other teams, and I was really happy to have a bunch of teammates there to cheer me on.”
One team member on hand was Franco, who on Friday finished third in her heat while breaking her own school record with a time of 58.35. She missed qualifying for Saturday’s event final by about one-half second.
Franco’s time at nationals was a slight improvement over her title-winning mark of 58.36 that she recorded last weekend at the MIAC Indoor Championships. She entered the race seeded 14th out of the 16 entrants.
“Clare did a great job. I’m really happy with her race structure,” said Ricks. “This gives her a ton of momentum heading into the outdoor season.”
Franco and Childs-Walker are the first Carleton women to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships since Laura Bloedorn in 2003. The points accumulated by Childs-Walker helped Carleton finish in a tie for 33rd in the team competition.
WOMEN'S 5000 METER RUN
1 - Elise Tropiano, Sr, Amherst College - 16:58.84
2 - Stephanie McNamara, So, Tufts University - 17:02.76
3 - Simone Childs-Walker, Fr, Carleton College - 17:04.02
4 - Jenny Scherer, Jr, St. Norbert College - 17:05.03
5 - Emily Loeffler, Sr, Trinity U (Texas) - 17:09.01
6 - Wendy Pavlus, So, St. Lawrence - 17:15.15
7 - Mary Palmer, Sr, Wisconsin Eau Claire - 17:17.04
8 - Lauren Philbrook, Sr, Williams College - 17:18.68
9 - Kerry Arouca, Jr, Westfield State - 17:28.81
10 - Jackie Spelts, Jr, Nebraska Wesleyan - 17:29.42
11 - Laura Paulsen, Jr, Johns Hopkins - 17:30.69
12 - Lisa Baumert, Sr, Wheaton College (Ill) - 17:55.47
13 - Jacqui Wentz, Jr, Mass Inst Technology - 18:01.62
14 - Christa Johnson, Sr, Ursinus College - 18:16.50
15 - Anne Monjar, Sr, Bowdoin College - 18:18.60
WOMEN'S 400 METER DASH (PRELIM RESULTS)
Round 1, Heat 1
1 Hannah Baker, Jr, Wartburg College 56.74q
2 Nevada Morrison, Fr, Wartburg College 57.35q
3 Ali McCoy, Jr, Illinois Wesleyan 57.84q
4 Lauren Brightmore, So, North Central College 58.83
Round 1, Heat 2
1 Robin Yerkes, Jr, Roanoke College 56.34q
2 Kathleen Folbrecht, Jr, Wisconsin Stevens Pt 57.52q
3 Clare Franco, Fr, Carleton College 58.35
4 Leslie Williams, Sr, Cabrini College 59.27
Round 1, Heat 3
1 Portia Jones, Fr, Mass Inst Technology 57.64q
2 Jenny Kordick, Jr, Wartburg College 57.70q
3 Chelsey Jacobs, Jr, Wartburg College 57.86
4 Danica Schaefer, Sr, Wisconsin La Crosse 59.37
Round 1, Heat 4
1 Liz Kooistra, Sr, Wisconsin Eau Claire 57.44q
2 Marcia McCord, So, Ithaca College 58.11
3 Jianna Spadacinni, Jr, College of New Jersey 58.29
4 Kelsey Steffens, Sr, Wartburg College 58.80
