Bluffton High School graduate Hannah Chappell-Dick ran a huge PR and finished in third in the 1500m at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships on Saturday in Canton, N.Y.
She took more than three seconds of her best time, finishing in 4:27.25 on the national stage and within a second of the national champion. Her previous PR, which had been the ODAC record, was 4:30.97. She now has whacked 5.58 seconds off the old ODAC record, set by Roanoke's Carmen Graves at 4:32.83.
Chappell-Dick started the nationals race near the front of the pack and never left, running third most of the way. Midway through the race the leading trio, including Tricia Serres of Luther and Maryann Gong of MIT, put a little space on the rest of the runners.
Chappell-Dick was passed momentarily before pushing back up with St. Thomas' Emily Gapinski, eventually making a move on the outside to pass Gong over the final lap. They blew past the MIT runner but couldn't make up the distance on Serres who claimed the title in 4:26.30.
Gapinski was second in 4:26.76, while Chappell-Dick was less than a half second behind. Gong settled into fourth at 4:28.58.
The top eight runners earned All-American status, giving Chappell-Dick her second All-American honor this year. She finished second in the indoor mile at the indoor championships in March.
Chappell-Dick was also named the USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Athlete of the Year following each the indoor and outdoor seasons this year.
