Nov. 22, 2010
2010 NCAA Championship
LaVern Gibson Championship Course • Terre Haute, Ind. | |
| |
 |
| | Team Results
| | 1. | Villanova
| 120
| | 2. | Florida State
| 154
| 3.
| Texas Tech
| 165
| 4.
| Georgetown
| 167
| 5.
| New Mexico
| 227
| | |
Individual Results
| | 1. | Sheila Reid
| NOVA
| 20:06.9
| 2.
| Emily Infeld
| GTWN
| 20:09.2 | 3.
| Jordan Hasay
| ORE | 20:13.0 | 4.
| Risper Kimaiyo
| UTEP | 20:16.1
| 5.
| Ose Tanui
| TTU
| 20:17.6 | | 14. | Emily Sisson | WIS | 20:28.3 | 54.
| Caitlin Comfort
| WIS | 21:02.4 | | |
| |
• Individual Results | Individual Results 
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Freshman Emily Sisson of the Wisconsin women’s cross country team placed her name in the record books at the NCAA Championship on Monday, as she staked claim to her first-ever All-America accolade with a 14th-place individual finish.
Sisson crossed the finish line in a time of 20:28.3, a mere 22 seconds behind individual national champion Sheila Reid of Villanova’s time of 20:06.9. Sisson has been the top finisher for UW in all five of her races to earning first-team All-Big Ten, first-team All-Region and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors along the way.
From the onset, there were weather-related issues for all the competitors. With strong winds at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., a large pack of runners began to form early in the 6-kilometer race.
Despite this, Sisson was able to get prime positioning early in the race, and although she drifted back halfway, she dug her feet in the ground and picked up the pace to claim All-American honors.
“Emily performed extremely well for a freshman,” head coach Jim Stintzi said. “It was a great way to end her first collegiate season.”
Sisson’s All-America performance breaks a one-year hiatus for UW, as the last time the Badgers placed a runner on the All-America team was in 2008 with Gwen Jorgensen’s 19th-place finish.
Sisson’s 14th-place showing is also the highest a Badger runner has placed since Hanna Grinaker’s 13th-place finish in 2006.
UW’s other competitor, Junior Caitlin Comfort, took home 54th-place, crossing the finish line in a time of 21:02.4 to best her 70th-place performance in the 2009 national meet. Comfort has been step for step with Sisson, and has taken second for UW throughout the season en route to first-team All-Region and first-team All-Big Ten accolades.
Sisson and Comfort were individual qualifiers and the only Badgers to compete in the national meet.
With these strong individual performances from the twosome, Stintzi is excited for the upcoming season and believes the duo has grown throughout the 2010 season.
“They both really learned something from their performances today and in their races throughout the season,” Stintzi explained.
Going into the race, the bar was raised high for both Sisson and Comfort alike. Sisson not only expected a great deal from herself, but cross country fans around the nation did as well. So, how did she deal with all of this pressure, whether self-inflicted or fan-induced?
“I really try not to worry about others’ expectations so much,” Sisson said. “I just try to relax and focus on things not related to the pressure.”
“But I am very pleased with how I ran today, my goal was to get in top 15 and I accomplished that.”
With these high-caliber performances from the duo throughout the 2010 cross country season, Badger fans still can follow Sisson and Comfort in the upcoming track season.
Nevertheless, based off of Sisson and Comfort’s finishes on the national level Monday, there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming 2011 season in Badger women’s cross country.
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Monique Hughes
UW Athletic Communications
