The first events of this year's Nike Outdoor Nationals go off tonight in Greensboro, North Carolina. The 5000 meters will start at 8PM EST. While Florida has no dogs in the fight in the boys race, three girls will be representing the Sunshine State on the girls side: Jessica Butler (St. Thomas Aquinas), Jana Stolting (Maclay), and Ashley Brasovan (Wellington).
While there are a lot of excellent girls in this race, including Jessica Butler who is fresh off of a big PR road 5K last month of 17:54, let's face it Brasovan is in a league of her own in this race. It is hers to win. The national record in this event belongs to Caitlin Chock. By the end of the night it may very well belong to Ashley. The time of 15:52 seems extraordinary--and sure it's nothing to sneeze at--but let's remember Ashley has put down multiple 16:40 times over her career on the grass. If she's feeling up to it the meet record should be squarely in her grasp.
One has to expect that if she is feeling good (and the pace is right) tonight she will go after it. Especially after having missed the state record attempts in the 3200 earlier this spring she's probably eager for a page in the record books here! If she is not feeling up to snuff or falls off record pace, I'd assume she will pull up and put on auto-pilot for the win to save for tomorrow. She is also entered in the two mile race at 7:45pm on Friday. That one should be a lot more competitive with girls like Kathy Kroeger (NY), Neely Spence (PA), and Emiliy Lipari (NY).
