It only took Emilee Trost one crack to land her first individual All-American track honor. The University of Minnesota Duluth rookie ran a personal-best time of 4:52.32 to place fourth in the mile run finals Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. Azuza Pacific University's Staci Foster took home the title, crossing the finish line in 4:47.18.

In the other event Trost was entered in -- Friday's distance medley relay,  she and her three Bulldog teammates (senior Alexandra Rudin and juniors Hannah Olson and Madeline Schaeffer) all posted career-high times in their respective legs and set a school-record in the process, clocking in at 11:44.88. Yet, in an ultra fast field, it was only good for 10th place.

Olson, a returning All-American in the mile, did not advance to Saturday's finals after falling two feet from the finish line and literally crawling to a 12th place finish in the prelimaries (only the top nine advanced). She did go on to take 12th in the 3,000-meter run Saturday (9:47.32)  while UMD sophomore Samantha Rivard placed 15th (9:58.34).  Rivard, who had secured a pair of All-American citations at this same event one year ago (winning the mile and taking third in the 3,000-meter run), was 10th in Friday's 5,000-meter race (17:13.45). 

"It's amazing how fast the times have gotten at this level" said UMD head coach Joanna Warmington. "I think the distance medley relay event was a prime example of that. Our five women ran with a lot of confidence this weekend and I could not be more proud of their efforts."


2015 NCAA II Indoor Track and Field Championship Results