Gall finishes 14th at NCAA finals

Junior distance runner Jessica Gall went into the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 12 at Purdue as IU's only female representative and seeded seventh in her event -- the 5000-meter run.\n"It wasn't my best race, but it was a great learning experience and I was glad I had the opportunity," Gall said. \nGall started the race strong. The first mile of the about three-mile race was the second-fastest mile she has ever run. \nSixteen women fought for pace and position. Gall hanged onto the lead pack for about the first half of the race, but the pack began to gradually increase its pace and Gall could not catch up despite all efforts. \n"Distance running is so challenging because you have to leave everything on the track," Gall said. "I just didn't have it that day even though I gave it my all."\nThe seventh-seeded Gall finished 14th with a time of 16:37.42. The top-eight finishers earned All-American status, which was Gall's goal going into the race. \n"Some days the race feels a lot longer than it is -- Friday was one of those days," Gall said. \nIda Nilsson, a senior at Northern Arizona University, won the event with a time of 15:50.20, and the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers captured the overall title and their first-ever indoor championship. \nGall considers the race result to be a fluke because she felt good going into the race and trained well for it. \nNow, the junior is only concentrating on moving on and preparing for the outdoor season.