Jessica Monson wraped-up her brilliant UW-Parkside running career by matching her career best NCAA finish. She placed in the runner-up position in the 1500m Run at the NCAA II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.
Monson made a gallant charge at one of the biggest favorites in the NCAA II National Championship Meet when she just missed overtaking, now 8-time Champion (2 Cross Country Titles, and 5 previous Track Titles) Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific in the 1500m Run Final. She fell short of a big upset by .63 of second; 4:26.75 to Monson's 4:27.38.
The race appeared to be decided early when Pixler took full control from the gun, building up an 8-second lead on the field by 400m (65 seconds to 73 seconds for the pack). That lead held to the 800m mark, when Monson moved from near the back up to 4th place by that point. Pixler coming through in 2:16 and Monson in 2:24.
Monson moved up to 2nd place with 300m to go, with the lead chipped back to 5 seconds and approximately 25m (3:30 to 3:35). With 200m to go the lead was till about 20m and it wasn't until the final 100m that Pixler struggled to get to the finish line with Monson closing to within a stride at the finishline. The race brought the crowd of over 3,000 to its feet, perhaps the loudest and most exciting finish of the meet.
Monson advanced to the final with a qualifying performance of 4:29.77 on Thursday evening. She had entered the event as the 3rd seeded runner and her season best time was more than 7 seconds behind Pixler's season best. She had also been defeated by Pixler at the Indoor Championships by over 5 seconds in the Mile and in Cross Country by nearly a minute.
Runnin' Ranger Coach Mike DeWitt had these comments about Monson: "The race went pretty close to what was expected. Jessica has learned over the past 4 years that she needed to run her own best race and not react to anyone else in the field. She stayed off the fast pace and worked strong to the finish. It was a thrilling race and added to her great career. Jessica has been an outstanding athlete from the first day she became a part of the program 4 years ago. She is coachable along with being a great competitor. I am confident that she will continue to compete at a high level over the next many years. She is motivated and excited to continue her running career."