Madeleine Davison hit the road again this week, heading west and north for the Eastern Michigan Fall Classic.
Friday's 5,000-meter race in Dexter, Mich., featured members of the Michigan and Michigan State squads, quality post-collegiate runners and Davison, who is running unattached during her senior year of high school. The 2015 state indoor and outdoor track champion fared well again against more experienced competition, finishing seventh on the North Course at Hudson Mills Metropark in 17 minutes, 42 seconds.
"The best way to describe that race is as a learning experience," said Davison, who is building toward a possible return trip to the Foot Lock National finals in December. "I know it's cliche, but this race helped me gain valuable insight into some of the mental aspects of racing. Looking back, I wish that I had made a more concrete goal for myself because I think that would have helped a lot in the last half mile when I needed that extra edge."
Kira Garry, who was a standout at Yale and recently transferred to Michigan, was the winner in 17:22.4, while Michigan State freshman Lynsie Gram was next in 17:33.5. Jessica Hoover, a former Miami of Ohio standout who is now at East Lansing, was third in 17:35.5, while Rebecca Addison, a Michigan grad who finished second in the USATF road mile earlier this year as a pro, was fourth in 17:38.8.
Davison said the field of 70 runners broke apart in the opening mile and "after that, I really didn't know what place I was in because all of the twists and turns in the wooded part of the course made it tough to see far ahead."
The next race on Davison's schedule is a trip to New York City and Van Cortlandt Park for the New York Road Runners Fred Lebow Cross Country Championships. The 5K race on November 15 will follow the historic course that Davison and hundreds of others from 11 Northeast states and the District of Columbia will tackle on November 28 for one of 10 qualifying spots for the Foot Locker finals in San Diego.
Davison, who has taken a number of official and unofficial college visits this fall, finished fourth in last year's Northeast qualifier.
