Hornets’ Wallace: All American in 800
Lea Wallace earned All American in the 800
Hornets senior Lea Wallace wrapped up her collegiate running career this weekend with a 9th place finish in the 1500, and placing 6th and earning All American in the NCAA Div I Outdoor Championships 800.
In Friday evening’s 800, Wallace finished in 2:04.56 and, according to Sac State, she recorded the highest finish by a Hornet woman since Marisa Avendano placed second in the 10,000 in 1997.
Multiple, lengthy weather delays frustrated the athletes and event organizers this weekend. According to CSUS:
Once the race began, the senior began the race from lane six but was never able to get to the rail in the fast-paced final. The extra distance Wallace had to cover from the outside proved costly as she finished just over two seconds off the winning time of Oregon’s Anne Kesserling (2:02.15). Natalja Pilisuina of Oklahoma State finished second in 2:02.16 while Tennessee’s Chanelle Price was third with a time of 2:03.02.
Saturday’s 1500 turned into a tactical race:
Wallace ran 4:18.73 in a slow-paced race which saw all 12 competitors bunch up for the first three laps. From that point, the top six runners gained some separation before the lead group of four pulled away over the last 200 meters. Unlike the 800 on Friday, Wallace was able to get to the rail early but then became bogged down in traffic and was never able to showcase her speed in the open.
The 1500 was won by Villanova’s Sheila Reid in 4:14.57.
Wallace is the first Sacramento State woman to score at the NCAA outdoor championships in 14 years.
Complete results can be found here.
Flotrack has a nice interview of Wallace after she won her 800 meter semi final heat. Watch it here.