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MOLLY HANSON, a former Dodgeville High School athlete, is a second-team all-American for the University of Wisconsin women's track team for the second consecutive year.
Hanson, a 5-foot-6 junior middle distance runner, secured that honor after finishing ninth in the 1500-meter run at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., last Saturday.
She crossed the finish line with a time of 4 minutes 17.06 seconds, her fastest time of the year.
Hanson's finish was two spots better than a year ago in the same race, and improving on her 2014 finish was a goal of hers.
"I think when I crossed the line I was sort of disappointed," Hanson said. "But I did think back to the fact that my number one goal was to finish better than last year, and I was able to do that. It's something to be happy with. I'm not disappointed really. At the middle of the season, I didn't think I would get to the finals at the national meet, so to get here and finish ninth was incredible."
Her efforts did not go unnoticed by her coach.
"She did a great job," UW Director of Track and Field Mick Byrne said. "It was a tough race and a great competition. They went out very, very fast. That wind was a strong wind out there, but she was able to handle it and just missed a first-team all-America finish."
It marked the third-straight race that Hanson set a season-best time, as she had also done so at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and in the semifinals at the NCAA outdoor championships on Thursday.
Hanson started off the race towards the pack of the field of 12 and had to navigate a fallen runner early on in the race.
She remained in the pack, working her way up to ninth heading into the final lap. "To resurrect myself after a rough start to my season and make the final and finish better than I did a year ago, I would say that this season went better than last season," Hanson said. "That is what you have to put in perspective for the collegiate career. I have taken steps every single season and I'm very happy that I'm improving.
Hanson earned a berth in the finals after finishing fourth in her section of the semifinals with a then-best 4:17.41.
She started toward the back of the pack in a heat that featured reigning NCAA champion Shelby Houlihan of Arizona State and Colorado's Sara Sutherland, a three-time all-American.
"I didn't want to get on the rail, that was my goal going in," Hanson said. "If I had gone out too fast, I would have gotten shoved to the rail, so I hung around in the back for a while."
Hanson moved to the outside of the pack with 500 meters to go and then into the top five going into the bell lap. The lead pack started a furious kick with 300 meters to go, and Hanson held on to a top-five finish to advance to the final.
"I wanted to make the final, so I surged to get in the lead pack, and with 300 meters to go they started kicking; that is always scary," Hanson said. "In the past my weakness has been when they kicked that early. I did it, people started to fade and I took advantage."
"It wasn't ideal conditions today with a lot of wind," Byrne said. "There was a lot of jostling in the race, but she didn't get into any trouble or held up by traffic. We're excited that she was able to advance again."
As a team, the Badgers scored 16 points and tied for 15th place.
By Mike Vail