AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin women's track and field's Alissa Niggemann capped off her sophomore season with a second-team All-America finish in the steeplechase at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Despite temperatures near 100 degrees, Niggemann finished 11th in the championship round of the steeple in 10 minutes, 25.60 seconds, two days after breaking her own school record in the event with a time of 9:51.60 in the semifinals.

"I learned its always going to be a challenge to compete at this level," Niggemann said. "It's a fantastic thing to experience with a bunch of elite athletes. I'm super thankful for this experience."

It marked the end of a sensational season for Niggemann as she became only the second All-American in the event, joining Ashley Beutler, who earned first-team All-American honors in 2013. The Amherst, Wisconsin, native became the first Badger to win the women's steeplechase at the Big Ten outdoor championships and the first Badger to break 10 minutes in the steeplechase.

"It's been a fantastic season," Niggemann said. "Just to be in this final is a really big deal. I'm proud of a lot of things I've done this season. At the end of the day, yeah, I didn't get first-team All-American, but there were a lot of girls in this final that should have been in there. I got to compete against the best, which is exciting."

In addition, Niggemann earned second-team All-America honors indoors in the distance medley relay and was an all-region performer in cross country.

"It's going to be my last season with Alicia (Monson) and Amy (Davis)," Niggemann said. "That's going to be hard, but coming away from this, there's a lot of motivation and I'm excited to get after summer training."

2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
June 8, 2019
Austin, Texas

Steeplechase
11. Alissa Niggemann - 10:25.60