Tank Garners All-America Honors with Ninth-Place Finish in 10k
EUGENE, Ore. – The stellar season for Utah cross country and track & field senior Poppy Tank continued Thursday evening at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships as she finished ninth in the 10,000m race and bested her previous school record with a time of 32:50.57 at Hayward Field.
"Poppy ran another very smart and tough race," said head coach Kyle Kepler. "I know she wanted to place higher, but I can't envision asking more of an athlete than she gave tonight in an NCAA final. Fifteen athletes, including Poppy, ran lifetime best. That's the kind of race it was. We are all incredibly proud of her."
The ninth-place finish garnered her Second-Team All-America honors, making it her second All-America accolade this season. The Plymouth, Devon, England, native took home All-America honors earlier this spring at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
"I definitely wanted to finish in the top-8 and to fall short of that hurts, but I can't be too upset with it being my first appearance at the national meet," Tank said postrace. "I gave it everything I could tonight and now I'll get myself ready to go again on Saturday."
Tank ran with the best of the best the entire race, hanging in the top-10 the entire race. In addition to breaking her own school record, Tank's 5k splits were also a new personal best for the senior – checking in at 16:36 and 16:14, respectively.
Her mark of 32:50.57 is the best finish for any Ute at the championships and bested the previous mark set by All-American Jill Molen-Koeven back in 1984 (33:37.0).
Tank will look to capture her third All-America honor of the year this Saturday, June 12, when she competes in the 5,000m race at 5:55 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU.
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