Townsend surprises even herself
SFU junior finishes second in 1,500 metres at NCAA Division II nationals
We’ll have to wait a little while to see what surprise Addy Townsend has in store for us next.
The 20-year-old from Coquitlam, competing in her junior season for SFU, admits she was a little taken aback with how well she handled coming from behind to finish second in the 1,500 metres at the NCAA Division II nationals in Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend.
“I had been visualizing what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.”
“In the same situation in years past, I would have given in and been OK with finishing fifth or sixth,” explained Townsend, who had the lead for a time but was fifth coming out of the final turn. “I really surprised myself in that way. It’s a huge jump for me mentally. I just said to myself, ‘OK, now it’s time to show my strength and speed. I will get around them.’
“I had been visualizing what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, and I was positive and in a good mind frame.
“I feel like I’ve matured, just by thinking really positively.”
Townsend clocked a 4:23.68 to edge out Kristen Metcalfe of Embry-Riddle (4:23.82) and Western
Oregon’s Suzie Van De Grift (4:23.87) at the finish line for second spot. Walsh’s Sarah Berger (4:22.22) won.
Townsend had run 4:22.26 at an Azusa, Calif., meet in April, but SFU
coach Brit Townsend was quick to point out that “at a nationals, it’s not about the time. It’s about the event.”
“She’s maturing as a runner,” the coach continued. “She’s making decisions in the middle of competition.
She’s adapting to a different race plan.”
Brit is Addy’s mother. She’s also a former Canadian Olympian who specialized in the 1,500 and 800 metres in her day, and she’s coached a host of middle distance stars in her time at SFU. That includes Lindsey Butterworth, who at last count, had run the second fastest 1,500 metres of any Canadian woman this season with her 4:10.95 at Azusa in April.
Butterworth was the last SFU competitor to win at the NCAA Division II nationals, copping the 800-metre title in 2015.
The plan is for Addy to go to Europe as a part of a group that will also include Butterworth for two of three races later this season. Addy is also slated to run at The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Classic on June 26 and 27 at Swangard Stadium, as well as in a couple of Portland-area events early next month.
“It’s really important for her development,” Brit said of the upcoming summer slate.
Addy had focused mainly on 800-metre races during the season. She had run just three 1,500 metres events going into the nationals.
She had also qualified to race in the 800 metres in Charlotte, and struggled with which one she wanted to race. There was an hour and 20 minutes between the two finals on Saturday which made trying to double up a daunting task, particularly with the heat and the humidity.
Addy says she plans to continue running both events with equal focus for the time being.
“I think the 800 helps my 1,500 and the 1,500 helps my 800. It’s a really good pairing,” said Townsend, who was sixth in the 800 at the 2017 nationals.
SFU’s other top finishers at nationals were senior Vladislav Tsygankov, who came in fifth in the 400-metre hurdles and senior Reta Dobie, who took eighth in the 3,000-metre steeplechase.