Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA Preliminary Round
All aboard: Badgers' Sisson, Jakutyte punch NCAA tickets
May 29, 2011 | Women's Track & Field
May 29, 2011
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EUGENE, Ore. -- Just over a month ago, Emily Sisson was still thinking about a redshirt season.
Now, she can be pretty proud of what she's done in her white University of Wisconsin uniform.
Sisson added to her list of rookie accomplishments -- which already included All-America honors in cross country and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award for outdoor track -- by racing her way into the NCAA outdoor championships on Saturday.
She joined junior Monika Jakutyte, who cleared 5 feet, 8 3/4 inches to advance in the high jump, in joining the Badgers' NCAA championships contingent -- which now includes five athletes.
Sisson turned in a time of 16 minutes, 9.44 seconds that was good enough for a fifth-place finish in her heat of the 5,000 meters at the 2011 NCAA West Preliminary Round -- and the automatic bid to the national meet that went with it.
It wasn't without drama for the freshman, who was running just the fourth race of her UW track career. She was in seventh place as the field took the bell lap and trailed the lead pack slightly heading into the first turn for the final time.
That's when Amanda Moreno of UC Santa Barbara went down, tangling her feet with the rail inside lane 1.
"When I saw someone fall I felt terrible for her," Sisson said, "but I knew I just needed to pick off one girl."
The turn of events opened the door for Sisson, who suddenly found herself sixth and staring at the back of Iowa junior Brooke Eilers in fifth. Turning on a finishing kick that remained unproven due to her lack of races this spring, she churned her way past Eilers on the backstretch and finished with a 4-second gap on the Hawkeye at the line.
"The last 400 meters was tough for me," Sisson said. "I feel right now my weakness is my finishing kick."
"It was really hard because we have such a deep field out there, but thankfully I was able to kick it in," she said.
At 11th overall, Sisson trailed only overall winner Megan Goethals of Washington (16:02.64) among freshmen in the field. The pair join Dartmouth rookie Abbey D'Agostino, who qualified out of the NCAA East Preliminary Round, as the only freshmen in the field of 24 for the national meet.
Sisson now returns to the track at Drake Stadium where, last summer, she claimed the national title in the 3,000 meters at the U.S. junior championships on her way to a berth in the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships.
"I'm just happy to be running and racing," Sisson said. "I'm not where I want to be fitness-wise, but I'm getting there.
"I just need to get some more training under my belt and I feel like I'll be ready to race."
Jakutyte's path to her first NCAA outdoor championships was a less dramatic one in the high jump. Also an indoor national qualifier this year, the junior need to clear just two bars in order to secure a sixth-place tie and finish among the 12 athletes advancing to Des Moines.
After passing at the opening height of 5 feet, 5 inches, Jakutyte easily cleared 5-7 on her first attempt. She tipped the bar on her first try at the next height, 5-8 3/4, but glided over for a clearance on her second attempt.
Only eight competitors managed to clear 5-8 3/4.
Jakutyte and Sisson join a pack of NCAA-bound Badgers that also includes senior Egle Staisiunaite in the 400-meter hurdles and junior Jessica Flax and sophomore Dorcas Akinniyi in the heptathlon. The 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships are set for June 8-11.
