Kreig '09 blitzes by all but five at NCAAs

Author: David Zhou

Over this past weekend, the three-month-long indoor track and field season finally culminated in the NCAA Division III Championships at Ohio Northern University.

Amidst the boisterous cheers from the crowd and the intensely competitive atmosphere, Alexandra Krieg '09, the lone Middlebury College athlete at the championship, represented the Panthers very well. The junior performed impressively in the women's 5,000m race, finishing sixth with a time of 17:25.11, earning All-American honors.

The 5,000m is 25 laps around the indoor track. During the race, runners must withstand test of their mental as well as physical strengths. Middlebury distance coach Nichole Wilkerson, who watched Krieg from the side, later praised her impressive performance.

"Alexandra stayed very, very strong throughout the race," said Wilkerson. "At some point she was up in third place, and later fell to 10th, but she pushed through and finished sixth in the end."

However, after the race, Krieg admitted that despite earning the coveted All-American title, she was actually disappointed with how the race turned out because her final time was considerably slower compared to her best time in the event, 16:59. Upon reflection, she said the problem occurred in strategy execution.

"My usual strategy with races is to go out conservatively and run faster as the race progresses," she said. "It's physiologically more efficient to run this way and mentally easier to pass other people rather than be passed yourself."

This strategy, while proven effective for her in the past, was somewhat thrown off this weekend when Krieg was caught off-guard by the unusually fast pace with which the other runners began the race.

"Everyone went out so hard but no one could keep up the pace. It's just not an efficient way to race," said Krieg. "I didn't run smart and let myself get carried away with the leaders instead of maintaining even, consistent splits."

While a competitive-spirited athlete like Krieg could be extra self-critical, Wilkerson objectively put the blame on her inexperience with indoor races. In fact, this year was the first indoor track season for the highly accomplished distance runner, who placed third at cross-country nationals just this past season.

"You just can't make up for a lack of experience," said Wilkerson. Indeed, to the running experts, indoor and outdoor races are two completely different worlds, mainly because the indoor track is half the size, which means sharper turns and shorter straightaways. Along with the different size comes a different "mind game," as Wilkerson put it, where a competitor could seem much further ahead of you than he or she really is.

Overall, Krieg said she considered the race a valuable experience and an opportunity for growth. This makes head coach Martin Beatty's description of her -"quiet, but with the heart of a lion"- quite fitting. Beatty affirmed that Krieg, with her strong mental attitude and competitiveness, is a star on the track and a great source of motivation for the rest of the team.

Now, the track teams are preparing for an exciting spring break trip to San Diego, where they will train and compete at Point Loma University in the gorgeous weather of California.