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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. _ Earning All American honors should never become so much of a routine that it is expected. But that is exactly the situation that sophomore Tina Peters was in at the NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships this weekend.
The winner of the last three national championships, 2007 indoor (related article) and outdoor (related article) and 2008 indoor (related article), Peters came in not only with expectations to compete, but a legitimate chance for another title.
For the first time in her three years, Peters did not come in as the top-seed. A pair of University of British Columbia walkers came in with better qualifying marks, including 2004, 2005, and 2006 champion Megan Huzzey.
Huzzey took the initial lead in Friday’s 3000-meter event setting a quick starting pace. Peters was able to stick close for the first couple laps, but Huzzey kept a strong pace throughout to take her fourth national title in a winning time of 14:12.13.
“It wasn’t my best race,” said Peters, who is already looking forward to next year’s indoor championships.
Peters, from Yellow Spring, Ohio, could not catch up to Huzzey or her British Columbia teammate Nicola Evnagelista, but did easily finish in third place with a time of 15:20.21. Her time was three-tenths of a second off her winning time of 15:20.21 a year ago. Her third-place effort easily earned the sophomore another All American honors, which gives the Maple Leafs eight in the past two years.
“I expected her (Huzzey) to come out quick, but she went out about ten seconds faster than I thought,” explained Peters. “I think I would have had a good chance to catch her if I would have stuck with the second girl at the beginning instead of trying to keep such a quick pace early.”
After earning her way to Friday’s national event with a personal best 18:11.00 at the MCC Championships, junior Laura Stoesz finished just five seconds off that pace for 15th place. With the majority of her races featuring just a few competitors, Stoesz struggled to keep her own pace, instead yielding to the field.
“It reminded me a lot of a running race,” said Stoesz, who also competes on the Maple Leaf cross country team. “I tried to keep the pace of other competitors instead of sticking to the pace I was comfortable with. I regained a lot of confidence when I went back to my own pace and started walking better.”
It certainly was a quick pace to try and keep up with as four walkers finished in under sixteen minutes. Both Peters and Stoesz will use the experience for next year. Peters will go in search of her fourth and possibly even fifth national title in 2009, while Stoesz will look to continue her rapid improvement in a relatively new sport to her.
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