DiCrescenzo joins rising senior Caroline Bierbaum, who was second in the 10,000m on Thursday night, as an All-American by virtue of placing among the top eight American finishers in her event. Prior to last night, Columbia women's outdoor track and field had never had an All-American.
All-America honors are given to the top eight American finishers in every event. With two international competitors in the top eight of the steeple, DiCrescenzo earns All-American status with her ninth-place finish.
In today's steeple final, the pack went out fast, running the first 400m in 74 seconds, but the pace slowed down significantly, allowing all the runners to stay in the mix.
Cassie Hunt of Illinois took the lead with about 700m to go and separated the field with the top eight runners stringing out over the back stretch. On the final water barrier, Victoria Mitchell of Butler University surged forward and didn't look back, winning the event in an impressive 9:54.32.
"It's a bittersweet time for me right now," DiCrescenzo said. "I'm sad to be leaving behind a program that has been a huge part of my life for four years, but I'm happy that I've achieved my ultimate goal of being an All-American."
Associate Head Women's Coach Craig Lake was happy with today's results. "Overall it's the best year she's ever had," Lake said. "Last year, she didn't make it out of the trials. She fractured her leg on the first water barrier, so for her to come here and leave as an All-American shows how tough she is and how much she's improved."
Lake summed up DiCrescenzo's career perfectly. "She came here not even the top runner in the state of Illinois, but leaves as one of the ten best collegiate runners in the nation," Lake noted.
DiCrescenzo leaves Columbia with All-Ivy, All-East Region and All-American honors in the steeple, but also adds to her credit All-Ivy and All-East honors in cross country and indoor track and field. She captained the 2004-05 squad and was a member of the three-time Ivy League Heptagonal champion cross country team. She finished the season ranked 19th in the nation in the 1500m and 14th in the 5000m, despite running each event no more than twice in the season.
Complete results for the steeplechase are available at NCAASports.com.
