Women's Track and Field | 5/24/2018 10:51:00 AM

10,000 meter results | Long jump results | Championship website l Photos
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Utilizing a consistent race strategy to combat warm temperatures Thursday, Nazareth graduate student Emily Thompson finished in sixth place in the 10,000-meter run to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at Wisconsin-La Crosse's Roger Harring Stadium.

Junior Alycia Eaton also competed for the Golden Flyers in the long jump and finished in 20th place.

With temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees in Wisconsin, the 6.2-mile race was moved to earlier in the day and Thompson responded with one of the best races of her life as she posted a time of 36:33.89 to become the Golden Flyers' first-ever outdoor track All-American. Ithaca's Taryn Cordani won the race in 35:03.20 with Bates' Katherine Cook in second place with a time of 35:17.48. The top eight finishers are recognized as All-Americans.

"The way she executed was really tremendous," said Nazareth Coach James Goss. "She knew that she didn't want to go out too fast because of the heat here; she was very self-aware of where she needed to be."

Cordani set an early pace and wouldn't be caught. That left Thompson in the next group of runners for the duration of the 25-lap race. She completed the first 400-meter lap in 1:27.7 and stayed between 1:26 and 1:29 until the final lap, which she completed by finishing strong in 1:23.7. "I knew that if I could maintain a pretty good pace that some of the other runners would drop off the pace as it got hotter," Thompson said. "As some of the others fell off the pace, I knew I had to keep chugging along."

The sixth-place finish caps a strong collegiate career for Thompson, who competed at the national meet in the 5,000-meter run during the indoor season. She set school records in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs in addition to the 10,000. She also won the Empire 8 Conference title in the 5,000 meters earlier this spring.

"I knew I wanted to compete at the nationals, but I didn't think about being an All-American," she said. "I just wanted to enjoy my last (college) race ever. When you're relaxed and focused is usually when you run your best races."

Eaton, an All-American in the triple jump for the Golden Flyers during the indoor season, didn't fare as well in Thursday's long jump. She had three jumps and wasn't among the nine athletes to reach the competition's final. Her best jump was 5.38 meters (17 feet, 8 inches), well off her personal-best of 18 feet, 11 1/4 inches that she produced at the All-Atlantic Regional meet at Brockport earlier this month.

Amelia Glueck of Illinois Wesleyan, one of six to surpass 19 feet, won the competition with a jump of 6.05 meters (19 feet, 10 1/4 inches).

"It just wasn't her day," Goss said. "It was a really strong field, so she would have had to jump her best to be an All-American. She's discouraged, but she's had a great year and will be back next year."