Lucy Van Dalen, a senior from Wanganui, New Zealand, won the mile at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track Championships at Boise State, giving Stony Brook its first individual national title in any sport. Van Dalen, who crossed the finish line in 4:39.76, held off Aisha Prought of Illinois State (4:39.85) for the title. The time is a new facility record, just one night after setting a new mark.
Van Dalen already had accomplished much going into the Championships. She won an America East title in Cross Country in 2010 and earned All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track last year. The only thing missing was the individual national title, which she now has.
“Lucy stuck to the game plan as well as you can,” said her coach, Andy Ronan. “She was mentally and physically in the right place, and willed herself to the finish line. Our program has shown we can compete nationally in cross country, and now in track.”
Less than two hours later, Van Dalen competed in the 3,000, finishing 10th (9:20.27). “The goal was to win the mile; everything else after that was a bonus,” Ronan said.
For her efforts, Van Dalen earned All-America first team honors in the mile and second team honors in the 3,000.
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