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Wilson qualifies for Nike Nationals
TERRE HAUTE —Emma Wilson placed 18th last year in the Nike Cross Midwest Regional meet, falling short of qualifying for the prestigious Nike Cross Nationals.
She set a goal for herself this year to place in the top 10, and far exceeded her expectations with a second-place finish to earn a spot in the national event next month in Portland, Ore.
“Emma’s performance at the Nike Midwest Regional was phenomenal,” GHS coach Craig Jordan said. “ I knew during her warm up that she was ready to roll, so the only instructions given was to make sure she finished without any regrets. She did a great job of putting herself in the top seven early as that pack quickly pulled away from the rest of the field.”
The race was run at the LaVern Gibson Championship course east of Terre Haute, the same location where Wilson won the IHSAA state title last month.
While the temperature was low that day, the conditions were otherwise favorable.
On Sunday, the conditions were not as favorable for the runners.
“With the rain and mud she could not afford to allow a gap to open, as it’d be difficult to recover from that,” Jordan said. “The lead group approached the mile in 5:26 together and by the two-mile mark it was a group of three in 11:10.”
Jordan lost sight of Wilson and the other runners as they approached the end of the race.
“Coming down the final stretch, I had no clue what was going on,” he said. “But she looked great and I felt she was going to win it. Regardless of place, I was overjoyed to watch her compete as she did.”
Wilson finished with a time of 17:33, an impressive 12.9 seconds faster than her state championship time on a far worse day to run.
The winner was sophomore Katelynne Hart of West Glenbard, Ill., who had a winning time of 17:28.6.
Hart is ranked fifth in the nation according to MileSplit, Jordan noted.
Finishing third was junior Gracie Sprankle of Liberty, Ohio, whose time was 17:36.1.
“This was by far Emma’s best cross country performance of the season and she even managed to tie Ben Gellman’s personal record on this course,” Jordan said. “She’s been training on another level the last few weeks, so I look forward to seeing how she does when she toes the line with the best girls in the country on Dec. 2 in Portland, Ore.
“Emma is the perfect example of what an individual can do when they combine their talent with hard work and a positive attitude.”