Sophie O’Sullivan closed the Washington Huskies track season on Saturday, finishing No. 12 in the women’s 1500m finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
O’Sullivan stayed in the back of the pack during a strategic first two laps, trying to conserve energy for what turned into essentially a 400m race. The senior swung out wide at the start of the final lap, trying to recreate the magic men’s 1500m champion Joe Waskom produced on Friday night. O’Sullivan managed to climb up to No. 6 but lost steam on the backstretch and gave those places back up to finish No. 12.
It’s still a remarkable result for the Australian, who did not race outdoors until the Pac-12 Championships. Maia Ramsden of Harvard won the event in 4:06.62, less than a second off the meet record.
Washington finished with 14.5 points in team scoring, all coming from the 3-4-5 finish in the pole vault on Thursday. It’s the most points the Husky women have scored since 2012, which put them at No. 20, their fourth top 25 finish in five years.
O’Sullivan’s second team All-America was Washington’s ninth honor of the postseason. Six Huskies received first team All-America honors, with O’Sullivan, Luke Houser, and Nathan Green making the second team. Washington also had three All-America Honorable Mention athletes.