June 10, 2005
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - Caroline Bierbaum closed a wide gap in the final 100m and took second place - just 1.16 seconds behind the winner - in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It is Bierbaum's third All-American honor this season and her second top-two finish in the NCAAs in 2005.
Bierbaum was patient in a race that played out very similarly to the 2005 Ivy Heptagonal Outdoor Championship (a race in which Bierbaum won and posted best 10,000m time in the NCAA this spring). Tonight, she ran comfortably in second or third in the lead pack until the 6000m mark, when she inched up to run stride-for-stride with leader Angela Homan from Auburn.
With just under 3000m to go, Providence's Mary Cullen took the lead with Bierbaum on her shoulder. With 1900m left and looking at ease, Bierbaum made a race-changing move as she and Colorado's Sara Slattery distanced themselves from the lead pack. Slattery, a fifth-year senior, gradually closed the gap on Bierbaum over an 800m stretch and took the lead with one lap remaining.
 Photos by Randy Martin.  |
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Slattery took what seemed to be a commanding lead on the back stretch, but Bierbaum showed tremendous kick, closing the gap in the final 100m to finish less than two seconds behind Slattery for second place. Bierbaum was more than nine seconds ahead of third-place Cullen.
"I was happy with the pace of the race," Bierbaum said. "I tried to be patient and stay behind the leaders until I was ready to make a move. I wanted to go with four laps remaining, but I could sense that Slattery was going to move, so I went before her."
"I'm very excited with the second place finish," Bierbaum said. "Ultimately my goal was to win, but I ran well and I'm happy with my performance."
Head Women's Coach Craig Lake echoed Caroline's enthusiasm. "She's second in the nation, I'm ecstatic," Lake said. "This is a great ending to a phenomenal year for her. She was third in the NCAA Cross Country meet, second in the 5000m at indoor nationals and now second here. Slattery is a tremendous runner and Caroline was right up there."
"She gained a world of experience today and she established herself as one of the nation's premier distance runners," Lake concluded.
Bierbaum is Columbia's first women's outdoor track and field All-American. The only runners to beat her in NCAA championships have been fifth-year seniors.
Senior Karl Dusen finished 21st in the men's 10,000m in a time of 30:02.91, in a race that was just the opposite of the women's 10,000m. The lead pack in the men's race distanced themselves in the final two laps of the first mile, and the leaders didn't look back.
"I'm happy with my race," Dusen said. "It was a great way to end my four years at Columbia."
Columbia's NCAA run concludes tomorrow at 7:20 p.m. PST as Delilah DiCrescenzo vies for top finish in the 3000m steeplechase.
For Thursday's complete results, please visit NCAASports.com.
