Complete 800, 4x400 relay results (PDF)ALLENDALE, Mich. – The biggest race of her career is yet to come.
But the way
McKayla Fricker sees it, the hardest race is behind her.
The Seattle Pacific senior, who came in as the No. 3 seed, ran to the top time in the preliminaries of the 800 meters at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships on Friday.
Fricker won the first of the three heats at Grand Valley Track & Field Stadium, coming across the line in 2 minutes, 7.52 seconds. That leaves her just ahead of Shawnee Carnett from Concord (W.V.), who won the third prelim heat in 2:07.66.
Carnett, who beat Fricker by 49 hundredths of a second for the NCAA indoor title in March, was the No. 1 seed coming to Michigan at 2:06.19. Fricker's third-seeded time was 2:06.85.
Two other runners also broke the 2:08 mark, both in the second prelim heat. Nicole Burlinson of Ursuline (Ohio) finished in 2:07.97, and Jhevere Hall of Lincoln (Mo.) was right behind in 2:07.98.
Those four, plus five others with prelim times ranging from 2:08.05 to 2:09.51 will step onto the track again on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Pacific time and race for the championship. (Click on
this link for a live Webcast and live results.)
The challenge won't be any easier. But in Fricker's mind, it'll be a lot less stressful.
"Prelims are so interesting. You get pretty nervous, and you have the pressure built on going into prelims," Fricker said. "Once it's over, it's a huge relief. It's like, 'OK, I know how to race, I can do this – no big deal.'
"It's just keeping in mind that today is prelims, tomorrow is finals. I felt kind of tight (today), but just stayed relaxed and just did what I had to do."
Fricker (Canby, Ore.) will be the only Falcon in action on Saturday. Sophomore
Lynelle Decker (Vancouver, Wash. / Mountain View HS) ran in the same 800 prelim heat as Fricker, and came across the line in 2:10.82. That was the second-best time of her career (exceeded only by the 2:10.58 on April 5 at the Stanford Invitational that secured her ticket to nationals) and gave her 14
th place overall.
SPU was hoping for a return trip to the finals of the 4x400 relay, but came up short. The team of senior
Kishia Mitchell, juniors
Jasmine Johnson and
Tasia Baldwin, and senior
BryAnne Wochnick clocked 3:46.30 and finished 12
th.
When she goes for the championship on Saturday, Fricker will be trying to latch onto the prize that barely eluded her at the NCAA indoor championships on March 15 in North Carolina. She and Carnett both charged hard down the homestretch, but Carnett, also a senior, hung on to win.
But while she is the top seed for the finals and Carnett is No. 2, Fricker said that won't count for anything when the approach the line.
"It's cool, but I don't think about it," Fricker said of that distinction. "It's paper, it's not the results. We'll just see what happens tomorrow when it really matters."
As is often the case, Fricker started off toward the back of the pack on Friday, but steadily charged forward. She was in fourth place when she came through the 400-meter mark in 62 seconds.
By the time she came out of that curve and started up the back side, she was taking command. Coming down the homestretch, it was never in doubt, as she beat Monique Thompson of Lincoln-Missouri to the finish line by more than half a second.
"She did everything that she had planned and that she and Karl (head coach Lerum) planned out, and she executed exactly the way she was supposed to," SPU assistant coach
Audra Smith said. "She looked smooth and relaxed, and was great."
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELDNCAA Division II ChampionshipsFriday, May 23, 2014Grand Valley Track & Field Stadium / Allendale, Mich. PRELIMINARIES800 – 1,
McKayla Fricker (SPU) 2:07.52. Other SPU placer – 14,
Lynelle Decker 2:10.82.
4x400 relay – 1, St. Augustine's 3:39.21.SPU placer – 12, Seattle Pacific (
Kishia Mitchell,
Jasmine Johnson,
Tasia Baldwin,
BryAnne Wochnick) 3:4630.
