Muir, Rudd Attain All-America Honors For FSU

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's outdoor track and field team boasts two All-Americans and ranks fourth in the team standings after day one action at the 2012 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships held on Thursday (May 24) in Pueblo, Colo.

Senior Tina Muir (St. Albans, U.K.) and junior Anna Rudd (Leslie) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 10,000 meters to earn All-America accolades late Thursday evening at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo.

Muir clocked 35:10.58 in winning All-America honors for the 10th time in her collegiate career while Rudd finished directly behind her in a time of 36:02.00.  Grand Valley State's Rachel Patterson was the individual winner in a time of 34:55.03.

With the nine combined points from Muir and Rudd, the Bulldogs also rank fourth in the team chase behind leader GVSU (20) and both Central Missouri State and Lincoln (Mo.), who totaled 10 points each on day one.

Three other Bulldog participants also competed at the national meet on Thursday.  Sophomore distance runner Samantha Johnson (Troy) clocked 4:42.82 in the 1,500 meters to move on to the finals in the event on Saturday.  She posted the 10th-fastest preliminary time of the 12 runners who advanced.

Sophomore thrower Jessica Pilling (London, Ontario/Banton) just narrowly missed earning All-America honors in the hammer throw as she finished ninth overall with a best toss of 180-11 on the day.  Her throw broke the school's all-time record in the event.

Meanwhile, junior Zoey Hohmann (Munith/Stockbridge) clocked 56.47 in the 400 meters to finish 14th overall in the preliminary round, but did not advance to the finals in the event.

No Bulldogs are slated to compete on Friday.  The final day of action is on Saturday with both Muir and Rudd competing again in the women's 5,000 meters taking place at 8:05 p.m. (MT). Johnson will run in the finals of the women's 1,500 meters at 5:35 p.m.

A total of 620 participants, 310 men and 310 women, will compete in the championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

The Bulldog women's outdoor track and field team was listed 24th nationally this week in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Rankings heading into the national championships.