Second-place finish in NCAA 5,000 closes Regan’s historic career
GENEVA, Ohio. (May 27, 2017) – Stevens Institute of Technology senior
Amy Regan concluded her historic career by capturing her 14th All-American honor with a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter national title race at the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Saturday.
On a picture perfect day for competition, the defending national champion, entered the race as the second seed and averaged 1:17.057 per lap to cross the finish line in 16:41.74. Pomona-Pitzer's Maya Weigel completed the 12-and-a-half lap race in 16:34.08 to win the national championship. The 5,000 was the final individual race of the national championship.
Starting from the 16th position, Regan jumped to the front of the field of 22 runners in the opening lap and would lead Weigel and Ithaca's Taryn Cordani over the race's first ten-and-a-half laps. The three runners distanced themselves from the remaining competitors in the first lap and 15 seconds separated the trio from the field at the finish line.
Weigel made her move around Regan to take the lead in lap 11 and stretched her advantage over the final two laps, completing the final lap in 1:09.187. Regan pulled to within a couple of strides of Weigel in the closing moments of lap 11 but was unable to regain the lead despite running her fastest 400-meter split of the race (1:16.368) in the last lap.
Regan closes her career on Castle Point as one of the most decorated runners in both Division III and program history. The Green Brook, New Jersey native captured six national championships, winning two in cross country and four on the track. A 14-time All-American, Regan helped Stevens reach its first-ever cross country national championship, was named Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on four occasions, and is a two-time Division III Honda Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
In addition to her national accolades, Regan has been a force in Empire 8 Conference competition, earning four Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors, three Indoor Track Athlete of the Year awards and one Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honor. The conference recently named the senior its Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, acknowledging Regan's outstanding performance in the classroom.