Wisconsin senior Hilary Edmondson will be the sole representative of the women’s track team when she heads to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor Track Championships this Friday and Saturday.
The Sarnia, Ont., native earned an automatic spot to compete against the nation’s best mile runners with a blistering time of 4:36.12 Feb. 14 at the Penn State Challenge. Edmondson’s time was good enough to earn her the second seed, just behind Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State, who ranks first with a time of 4:35.91. With the top three runners (McWilliams, Edmondson, and Northern Arizona’s Johanna Nilsson) all within .8 of a second of each other, the Badger senior knows that the competition is going to be extremely competitive.
“It’s really anybody’s shot, because the top three of us are really, really close,” Edmondson said, “And it’s really going to be who has a good race that day and who can run smart.”
Rounding out the top five seeds in the mile are freshman Jessica Eldridge of Oklahoma, with a time of 4:38.79, and sophomore Shannon Rowbury of Duke, running a 4:39.20. Michigan’s Lindsey Gallo, the Big Ten’s only other representative in the event, is seeded eighth at 4:40.91.
Edmondson, who is also a standout on the Badger women’s cross-country team, will go into the Indoor Championships on a hot streak after capturing the Big Ten mile title less than two weeks ago in Ann Arbor with a time of 4:45.05. Even more incredible is the fact that the senior won the 3000 meters in 9:31.75 after not previously running the race in competition during this indoor season. Her time provisionally qualified her for the NCAA championships, but Edmondson will not run the event and will concentrate solely on the mile. The senior hopes to take her success from the conference championships and carry it onto the national level.
“I think it was really important for me to do well at Big Tens,” Edmondson said, “Not as much for myself, but for the team. I mean, obviously it gives me confidence coming into nationals, but I just feel like Big Tens is definitely more of a team competition, and if it can increase your confidence, then that’s even better.”
Edmondson is no stranger to the Indoor Championships, as she was part of Wisconsin’s distance-medley relay team that placed seventh a year ago, earning her All-American accolades. She hopes to enjoy even more success on her return trip and has her eyes squarely set on staking her claim as one of the best milers in the nation.
“Since I’m ranked second, my goal is just to be in the top three,” Edmondson said, “But at the same time, I don’t want to run for second, so if I have a chance to win, then I would definitely love to do that. So, I’m kind of setting two goals, to be in the top three, but ultimately I would love a shot at winning.”
