At this time last year, Kate Nelson of Omaha, NE, was getting ready for Spring Break. In 2001, Nelson is packing for Wisconsin and the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships where she will compete in the 5,000-meters.
The beauty of this story is that this year is Nelson's first as a collegiate runner. During her freshman and sophomore years she was a member of the crew team, and her junior year she spent studying abroad.
Nelson started the 2000-01 season by leading the women's cross-country team to a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, finishing 12th overall individually.
Last weekend (Mar. 3) Nelson won the ECAC Championship in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:43.72. She holds the fifth fastest time this year in Division
III with a 17:24.71, which she ran at the Colgate Invitational earlier this year.
Nelson, a history major, will run the 5,000-meters on Saturday, March 10, at The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Joining Nelson at the indoor championships will be Maggie Hanson, a junior from Bowdoinham, ME. Hanson will compete in the 5,000-meters and the 1,500-meters.
Hanson holds the fifth fastest time in Division III for the 1,500 with a time of 4:39.00, which she ran in a meet against Union College. Her time in the 5,000-meters of 17:03.87 at the Colgate Invitational is the fastest time in Division III this year. Hanson was an All-American selection in both events at last year's championships.
