Posted: Nov 14, 2020

The Best for Last

STORY

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Abigail Doak has made a name for herself by becoming the first runner in Maranatha Women's Cross Country history to win NCCAA DII Nationals. That's a headline in itself, but not many people know she barely made it across the finish line.

The hidden story is that Doak was battling an injury that left her on the ground after the race, and on crutches for the near future.

Going in, Doak's goal was simply to finish.

"Knowing I was hurt beforehand, I thought there was no way - I'd just be lucky if I finish the race," Doak said. "I knew it was pain I could run through, but I collapsed after the race - coming through to the finish everything got blurry. I tried to stay standing after I crossed the finish line but I just collapsed."

Doak had been battling pain since the beginning of the season, but as the importance of the races increased, so did the pain.

"I love pushing myself - for me, that feels good," Doak said. "I like pushing myself until I can't push anymore. And for me, the goal of coming in first was one that I really, really wanted. So once I knew I could push through the pain I knew it was possible."

Doak's PR time of 19:36 for the Women's 5K sent her 14 seconds clear of the next-closest competitor, as the determined junior led the Sabercats to their best team time of the season. It was a celebratory but bittersweet day for everyone. On the "sweet" side, you name a runner and she ran a PR - every single runner set a personal record in the season finale, locking in a third-place finish behind Bob Jones University and Alice Lloyd College. On the "bitter" side, the team took third place only on a tie-breaker, as they tied with Alice Lloyd for the second- and third-place finishes.

Sierra John made a run at the All-American placements, finishing just outside of the top five with a seventh-place finish. John's PR of 21:23 is the ninth-fastest time in program history, and Katie Jean Lingle's 12th-place time of 22:23 keeps her locked in as the 18th-fastest runner in the 22-year history of the program.

All in all, the Sabercats did everything they could, as they capped off a season of patience, diligence, and determination with a podium finish at the NCCAA national stage and their fastest team time of a memorable 2020 season.

(*NCCAA records date back to 1972 and are incomplete. For NCCAA Men's Cross Country archives, click here for DI and click here for DII)

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