Koll Prepped for NCAA Championships

AMES, Iowa ? The stage has been set. Very few people saw it coming. The NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships run Wednesday through Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. If you are looking for a crowd favorite, you would be hard-pressed to top Iowa State sophomore Lisa Koll.

Koll has exceeded all expectations and comes into Thursday's 8:10 p.m. 10,000-meter run final as the fastest qualifier in the race and as the American collegiate record-holder, after running 32:11.13. Now, the Fort Dodge native, who never won an Iowa prep title, will seek to add another achievement in a familiar stadium just 98 miles from her hometown.

Koll, a four-time All-American, defended her Big 12 10k title in May. The past academic year includes a second straight All-American cross country season, the conference indoor 5,000-meter title and a runner-up finish in that race at the NCAA Championship. She won the Drake Relays 5,000-meter crown on the same Drake track on which she will race for the NCAA outdoor 10,000-meter title. She has plans to run in the Olympic Trials 10,000-meter race June 27 in Eugene, Ore. Her goal is to meet the Olympic “A” standard of 31:45, which she must run and place among the top-three finishers in the Olympic Trials race.

In May, she earned a bachelor's degree in biology after just three years of college study, graduating summa cum laude with a 3.97 grade point average. She hopes to attend veterinary school at ISU in the fall.

Cyclones.com sat down and talked with Koll as she prepared for the NCAA Championship.

What originally brought you to Iowa State?

“I was looking at in-state programs. I looked at UNI and Iowa State. I wanted somewhere that was going to be both good for my education and my running, and be close to my family. Originally I came in (pre-veterinary medicine), because Iowa State had a good vet school so that attracted me. I met a lot of the girls on the team, and I felt like I really fit in here. I really felt like I belonged here. When I got here and walked around campus I could honestly see myself coming to school here and being happy here.”

How do you so successfully balance academics and athletics?

“[Academics and running] go hand in hand, our whole cross country team has a really high GPA overall. Distance running is something that requires a lot of discipline and a lot of dedication. That is something that allows you to do well in school too. So I think as distance runners we can apply that to other areas of our life.”

You continue to make steady improvement. That must give you confidence.

“The most exciting thing about my progression as a runner, ever since my freshman year in high school, I have gradually gotten better. I mean I have had some setbacks along the way, but overall each year has been a progression and I have become a better runner year after year. Hopefully that continues in the future.

“It is just doing it day after day, the little things add up, that is how distance running is. To me, this year has been a shock that it has come this fast, but I always wanted to be at the place where I am at right now, I just didn't think it was going to happen this early. I really stepped up my training a lot last summer and this school year. I have been doing the things I have been doing all along, and it has all come together.”

You ran away with the Big 12 10,000-meter title in May. It was your first 10,000-meter race since setting the American Collegiate record in April.

“(The 2008 Big 12 10k race) was very different. I have never been in a race like that before. With four laps to go, I knew I was going to win. It was my first big meet where I actually won. I had a lot of confidence going in, but a lot of times races do not end up the way you think they are going to. If you are confident when you go in, it does not really matter what happens after that, as long as you race your hardest.”

Did running the American collegiate record race April 4 in the Stanford Invitational change your goals for the future?

“Stanford this year was the biggest turning point for me. I know I have the potential to be a professional runner now. Stanford was something that was good because I went into it wanting to do something that I knew was going to be difficult, and I did a lot better than I imagined I could. After that race, the sky was the limit. I realized it was stupid to doubt yourself, you never know what you can do.”

Your teammate Grace Kemmey, an All-American in cross country, has been a great addition for you and the ISU program.

“[Grace Kemmey's addition] has helped my training a ton. I trained with Grace all last summer, and what I did last summer is allowing me to have the success I am having now. She would get up early and run with me, and we have just become really great friends. She is really competitive, always wants to do better and she works really hard. In high school and college up to that point, I never really had a training partner, and I feel that Grace is now my training partner.”

The big (NCAA) week is here. What is your perspective heading into the race at Drake Stadium Thursday?

“I want to win at the national meet, obviously. If the weather is really good, I would like to run the Olympic A standard. The main goal is to go in, work hard, and get a national title.

“At this point I just want to get better. I feel like sometimes when you set goals, you set them too well, and it is better to set a goal like keep progressing. I don't feel like I have really hit it yet in cross country. I really want to have a standout cross country season next year, to finish my cross country season on a high note.”