Rachel Walny Runs To 18th Place Finish At National Championships

Thursday, June 8

Eugene, Ore.

10:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Rachel Walny 2017 National Championships

Photo by: Eric Evans

June 09, 2017 | Women's Track and Field

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Photo Gallery

Eugene, Ore. – Bowling Green State University redshirt sophomore Rachel Walny placed 18th in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Thursday evening at the University of Oregon. Walny's time of 34:00.61 was the second-fastest in program history and she was the top Mid-American Conference finisher at the meet.

Walny ran a steady race, quickly settling into 23rd out of the 24 competitors. As the race progressed, though, Walny began picking off runners one at a time, eventually passing MAC Champion junior Jordann McDermitt (Eastern Michigan) late in the race. McDermitt edged Walny in an epic race at the MAC Championships, with the two posting the two fastest times in MAC Championship history. At the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round two weeks ago, McDermitt again finished ahead of Walny, although both finished in the top 11 to earn spots to Thursday's national championship meet.

"She raced well beyond her level of experience," BGSU Track & Field Coach Lou Snelling said. "It was another savvy effort on the largest possible national stage. The consistency she's had over the last month has been phenomenal. This is her new normal."

Walny entered the meet ranked No. 22 among the 24 competitors, but finished four spots higher than should have been expected. She came up just shy of earning second-team All-America honors, finishing less than four seconds behind Notre Dame's Anna Rohrer for a top 16 time. Walny will be recognized as honorable mention All-America for her result.

San Francisco's Charlotte Taylor won the national title in the 10,000 in 32:38.57. New Mexico's Alice Wright was second and Sharon Lokedi of Kansas placed third. Walny was seventh among freshmen and sophomores.

The third Falcon to ever compete at the NCAA National Championships in the 10,000, Walny posted the best time by a BGSU runner at the meet. Cheri Triner finished ninth in the event in 1993 in 35:54.71 and Sara Collas was 19th in 1986 in 35:44.80. Walny now has the top four times in school history in the 10,000. Along with her 33:55.49 two weeks ago and this race, Walny ran 34:02.57 at the Mt. SAC Relays earlier in the 2017 season and posted a time of 34:11.55 at the MAC Championships.

For the fifth consecutive year, Bowling Green has sent a student-athlete to the NCAA National Championships. Brooke Pleger began the streak in 2013 and placed seventh in the hammer throw. She followed that up with a pair of third-place finishes in 2014 and 2015. A year ago, Aliyah Gustafson ended 24th in the shot put.