LA CROSSE, Wis. – Linfield College's Kaelia Neal and Emma Knudson both ran strategic races, using their closing finishes to place among the top eight in the women's 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The two seniors, who will graduate Sunday in commencement exercises in McMinnville, each were accorded NCAA All-America honors Saturday at the Veteran's Memorial Field Sports Complex.

As the starting gun was fired, both Neal and Knudson went immediately to the back of the pack, waiting patiently for the race to develop in front of them. Emily Richards of Ohio Northern took off quickly to set the pace and never looked back, leading from the opening gun to the finish.
With two laps remaining, Richards still held a commanding lead with Gabrielle Stravach from Emory and Katherine Diekema of Calvin in pursuit. The rest of the field remained in a tight pack.

Linfield distance coach Mike Blackmore had hoped Neal and Knudson would be slotted a little closer to the front at that point, but said both Wildcats closed faster at the end of Thursday's prelims than all the other competitors.

The pair began to pass multiple runners over the final 300 meters. Neal surged ahead of Diekema in the last 100 meters to secure third place in a time of 4:29.06. That broke Knudson's week-old school record of 4:31.54. Knudson also broke the standing school record, finishing in 4:31.27 to claim the fifth-place spot. Richards' winning time was 4:25.08 followed by Stravach in second with a time of 4:28.61.

Linfield Travis Olson said he was "very proud" of Neal and Knudson, who together with pole vaulter Olivia McDaniel and javelin thrower Dana Brooks, helped lift Linfield into a seven-way tie for 24^th place in the women's team standings. Men's decathlete Keaton Wood also competed at the NCAA Championships, but an injury prevented him from finishing all 10 events.