The women's distance medley relay team of sophomore Sarah Rothmann, senior captain Claire Markonic, sophomore Ayden Eickhoff and senior captain Jessica Wilson broke the Bates flat track record and finished a program-best fourth place to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday evening.
They completed the race in 11:51.93, a new program record on a flat track. Wilson ran the anchor leg of the race for the Bobcats. Their fourth place finish beats the previous Bates women's DMR finish of fifth place at the NCAA Championships in 2014.
Wilson distinguished herself further on Saturday when she finished fifth in the 3,000-meter run, good for her third career All-American award. Wilson's time of 9:45.33 broke her personal flat-track record in the event. She becomes the first Bobcat runner since 1990 to finish as an All-American in the 3,000.
"I was really trying to be comfortable with being uncomfortable," a tired but happy Wilson said. "It's less than 10 minutes of running and you can do anything for 10 minutes. I know if I push myself and it hurts more then ultimately I'll be happier with the result and that's what happened there."
The Bobcats finished the two-day event with 15 points and a tie for 11th place out of 70 scoring teams and 112 participating schools. Their four All-American finishes surpasses the previous school record of three they earned at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships when the team finished third overall. The team's 11th-place finish is their best since 2006.
