AUSTIN, Texas—Graduate student Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) ran one of the fastest races in school history in the 10000 meters – a feat she has been making a habit of recently – and finished fifth in the national championship race at Mike A. Meyers Stadium on Thursday night.  Alcorta raced to a time of 33:20.70 on the first night of women's competition at the NCAA Championships, and still has the final of the 5000 meters to come on Saturday evening. 
 
The fifth place finish in the 10K adds to Alcorta's sensational season in one of the most grueling events on the track.  She is the first Villanova runner to score in the 10000 meters at the national championships in 25 years, and her time of 33:20.70 is the ninth-fastest in school history.  In her only year of competition for the Wildcats as a graduate transfer from North Carolina, Alcorta has tallied three of the top 10 times in the Villanova record book in the 10000 meters.  Two of those marks have come in the last 15 days alone at the NCAA East Preliminary and in tonight's championship race. 
 
Alcorta was steady and efficient in Thursday night's race, holding her ground even as the pace repeatedly slowed down, quickened and slowed again over the first three miles.  She was never outside of scoring position (top-eight finish) during the race, and after the field of runners came through the first mile she reeled off seven consecutive laps with splits between 76 and 79 seconds.  Later in the race, Alcorta ran eight straight laps within that range before closing with a 73.39 split on the bell lap. 
 
This is the second straight year that Alcorta has run in the 10000 meters at the NCAA Championships.  As a senior at North Carolina last season, she placed earned second team All-America honors with a 14^th place finish and a time of 33:49.81.  She moved up nine spots and cut her time by 29 seconds in Thursday's race and will be a first team All-American for the first time in her career when those honors are announced early next week. 
 
Alcorta is the Wildcats first runner since Carole Zajac in 1994 to score in the 10K at the NCAA meet.  She qualified for the championships after placing seventh in the national semifinal round at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville two weeks ago.  Her time of 33:31.75 in that race was previously the ninth-fastest for a Villanova runner, and now sits 10^th after Thursday night.  Alcorta recorded the number two time in the Wildcats record book – a PR of 32:53.26 – earlier in the year on March 29 at the Stanford Invitational. 
 
Only four of the 24 runners in the field for the 10000 meters are doubling up in the 5K on Saturday evening.  Alcorta is part of that group along with 10K champion Weini Kelati of New Mexico, Taylor Werner of Arkansas and Makena Morley of Colorado.  In addition to qualifying for the national meet in both events, Alcorta swept the BIG EAST titles in the two distance races last month. 
 
The national championship race in the 5000 meters is scheduled for 8:25 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday night.  Earlier in the evening freshman Sanaä Barnes (Keller, Texas) will compete for a national title in the high jump.  Barnes, whose hometown is just a three-hour drive from Austin, competed in several state meets at Mike A. Meyers Stadium.