ND SPORTS
BY JORDAN WELLS
A
fter a 19th-place finish
in the 2014 NCAA Cross
Country Championships,
then-junior Molly Seidel
wasn't expected to be the next
national champion.
Her coaches and teammates
believed in her, though. Prior
to the season, head coach Alan
Turner said the program had
set goals that included an indi-
vidual national champion and
a top-10 finish for the wom-
en's team.
Those objectives were met
Nov. 21 at Tom Sawyer Park
in Louisville, Ky., when Seidel
crossed the finish line first
with a time of 19:28.6 in the
6,000-meter race. She pulled
away from eventual runner-
up Allie Ostrander of Boise
State with 800 meters to go,
securing a five-second victory
over the second-place finisher
(19:33.6).
"It is incredible," Seidel
shared with UND.com. "I am
so blessed to get to run again
with such incredible girls. To
be able to come out and win
today is just a really amazing
experience. Four years ago at
this race, I definitely didn't fin-
ish this well.
Molly Seidel Captures Cross
Country National Championship
Seidel pulled away from a strong national field in the final 800
meters and finished with a time of 19:28.6 in the 6,000-meter
race — five seconds ahead of the runner-up.
PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS
