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Cretti pulls ahead to win the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill., Thursday.
When Caroline Cretti raced to her first individual track and field title at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March, Ralph White, her coach at Williams College, said "she is not the type to be satisfied."
It appears White was right about Cretti - she wasn't satisfied.
So not only did she go and capture a 5,000-meter title at the D-III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she also raced to a championship in the 10,000.
It appears White was right about Cretti - she wasn't satisfied.
So not only did she go and capture a 5,000-meter title at the D-III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she also raced to a championship in the 10,000.
On Thursday, Cretti zoomed through the 10,000 at Benedictine University in Illinois, winning the event in a blazing time of 35:10.42 and besting 17 runners for a wide-margin victory. Plattsburgh State University's Toni Wiszowaty led the pack who followed Cretti's dust, finishing almost 42 seconds behind her with a time of 35:52.42.
"I started off with the group, which was the plan since I was doubling (running two events in the meet) and knew I wasn't going for a really fast time," Cretti said of the 10,000 race. "I went slow for the first mile and then started to pick it up and nobody came with me. But you never really know when someone is going to pick it up in the 10,000. You never really get to relax, so 42 seconds didn't feel like a lot."
Despite temperatures in the low 90s, Cretti equaled her impressive performance on Saturday in the 5,000 run when she set a new Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex record with a 17:12.32 mark.
"The 5,000 was different. It was pretty stacked with a lot of really good girls, but almost all of us had doubled so it was crazy," Cretti said. "It was really exciting. The 5K was a really great way to end. It was a close race and a test to see if I could come back and win both."
"I started off with the group, which was the plan since I was doubling (running two events in the meet) and knew I wasn't going for a really fast time," Cretti said of the 10,000 race. "I went slow for the first mile and then started to pick it up and nobody came with me. But you never really know when someone is going to pick it up in the 10,000. You never really get to relax, so 42 seconds didn't feel like a lot."
Despite temperatures in the low 90s, Cretti equaled her impressive performance on Saturday in the 5,000 run when she set a new Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex record with a 17:12.32 mark.
"The 5,000 was different. It was pretty stacked with a lot of really good girls, but almost all of us had doubled so it was crazy," Cretti said. "It was really exciting. The 5K was a really great way to end. It was a close race and a test to see if I could come back and win both."
Even though she only out-paced the runner-up by five seconds, she crushed Jen Roger's previous record at Benedictine's track by more than one minute and 19 seconds.
"It's good to know that I pushed myself as hard as I could go and it ended as well as I could have hoped for," Cretti said.
With her wins, Cretti helped Williams finish second overall, much higher than predicted.
"It was great, we were ranked seventh or eighth coming in. Everybody did a fantastic job, and it was great to be a part of it," Cretti said. "It was nice to stand up on the podium one last time with the team."
"It's good to know that I pushed myself as hard as I could go and it ended as well as I could have hoped for," Cretti said.
With her wins, Cretti helped Williams finish second overall, much higher than predicted.
"It was great, we were ranked seventh or eighth coming in. Everybody did a fantastic job, and it was great to be a part of it," Cretti said. "It was nice to stand up on the podium one last time with the team."
White also says Cretti is the greatest female distance runner in the history of Williams College, apparently another thing he is right about.
She has totaled three national titles in her four-year tenure as an Eph, has been named as an All-American 15 times and holds the women's school record at Williams in the 5,000 and 10,000 with outdoor times of 16:29.70 and 34:35.71.
But the best may still be ahead for Cretti, who will graduate from Williams on Sunday. Cretti has been invited to join the United States Olympic Development Program in North Carolina where she will professionally train to make it to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The program will provide Cretti with a place to live, sponsorships and a salary in hopes that her distance times can improve and grant her Olympic status.
"I am going to give it a shot and see what can come of it - to see if I have more potential as a runner," Cretti said.
She has totaled three national titles in her four-year tenure as an Eph, has been named as an All-American 15 times and holds the women's school record at Williams in the 5,000 and 10,000 with outdoor times of 16:29.70 and 34:35.71.
But the best may still be ahead for Cretti, who will graduate from Williams on Sunday. Cretti has been invited to join the United States Olympic Development Program in North Carolina where she will professionally train to make it to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The program will provide Cretti with a place to live, sponsorships and a salary in hopes that her distance times can improve and grant her Olympic status.
"I am going to give it a shot and see what can come of it - to see if I have more potential as a runner," Cretti said.
