Matched up against some of the world’s best on Saturday,
Lena Nilsson more than held her own.
The UCLA junior solidified her status as the nation’s top
collegiate middle distance runner, placing fifth in the 1500-meters
at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. with a school-record
time of 4:07.69.
That mark is more than two seconds faster than Nilsson’s
previous personal best (4:09.89), and vaults her into the top spot
in the national collegiate rankings in the event.
“She was very happy with her time,” said UCLA
distance coach Eric Peterson, who accompanied Nilsson to the
Pacific Northwest. “A two-second personal record is a huge
jump when you are already running that fast.”
The race began at a brisk but not blistering pace, as the United
States’ Suzy Favor Hamilton took control from the
outset. Nilsson remained in the middle of the pack until the bell
lap as per usual, although her splits were by far the best of her
life.
In the midst of a three-way battle for fourth place, Nilsson
made a move with 130m left, but unaccustomed to such a quick pace,
she fell just short. As a result of the sluggish last quarter, she
had to settle for fifth place, more than five seconds behind
eventual champion Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak (4:02.44), but
secure in the knowledge that she could have run even faster.
“The first thing she told me after the race was, “˜I
know there’s a lot more there,'” Peterson said.
“She left the stadium feeling like she is better than this,
and her workouts seem to indicate that as well. But she has to
improve incrementally, and this was certainly a big step
forward.”
Perhaps the only disappointment for Nilsson was that she
narrowly missed securing a World Championship qualifying mark.
Nilsson, who moved into third on the all-time Swedish 1500m charts,
needed to surpass a 4:07.15 in order to qualify, but will have
several more shots at achieving her goal, beginning with the NCAA
West Regionals this weekend at Stanford.
The defending NCAA champion in the 1500m, Nilsson is the
prohibitive favorite to win the title again, and hopes to post a
new personal record again at the NCAA meet in mid June.
Her mark Saturday is a full three seconds faster than any of the
other top competitors in the event, including fellow Swede Johanna
Nilsson of Northern Arizona and North Carolina’s Shalane
Flanagan.
Perhaps Nilsson’s biggest challenge will not come from the
other entrants, but from fatigue. She will attempt to qualify in
both the 800- and 1500-meters this weekend, and ultimately could
run both events within 40 minutes of one another at the NCAA meet
in the scorching summer heat in Sacramento.
“Lena’s 100 percent focused on the NCAAs right
now,” Peterson said. “I wouldn’t say that setting
another personal record is out of the question.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
Both the men and women’s track and field teams had the
weekend off in preparation for the upcoming NCAA West Regional meet
which begins Friday at Stanford.