Imagine for a moment that you’re sprinting the last 50 meters of the 5,000 meter run, and you know you’re seconds away from catching the runner in front of you—taking you from fourth place to third, which will earn you a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Now imagine that a runner you had passed only meters ago suddenly sprints past you and the runner in front of you—making you the fifth place finisher in the Women’s 5,000 meter Final at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field. This was the experience of Abbey D’Agostino on Thursday night.

Running unattached, D’Agostino is a sophomore at Dartmouth College, and by all accounts a 5K runner on the rise. In her 2010-2011 freshman year, she missed the Cross Country season due to injury, and came back to have one of the best freshman seasons in the history of Dartmouth Track & Field. She finished third in the 5K at the NCAA Championships and set the Big Green and Ivy record of 15:40.69. This performance earned her a spot on the USTFCCCA All-America team. “I’ve had such a great year, it’s not fair to be upset,” D’Agostino said of her disappointment at not making the U.S. Olympic Team.

Though her disappointment was clear from the tears in her eyes and the cracks in her voice, D’Agostino is happy for the three women who will go on to compete in London: “I’m glad these three women will be representing the U.S. It’ll be really fun to see them race in London.”

With a time of 15:19.98, D’Agostino’s fifth place finish was only .15 seconds behind Julia Lucas’ fourth place finish of 15:19.83, and .19 seconds behind Conley’s outta-nowhere 15:19.79 third place finish.

Upon entering the final round of the 5K, D’Agostino had the fastest time out of the 16 finalists. Though the athletes were running to qualify for the finals and not necessarily to turn in record performances, D’Agostino’s ranking makes her athletic intentions clear: she came her to compete. “I’m still young and I’ve learned so much about the sport from my experiences here. I believe every experience translates into improvement. I plan to be here in 2016.”

Contributed by Amber James