Hillsdale graduate Amanda (Putt) Eccleston ’12 became the tenth fastest miler in the nation, June 29.
After qualifying two days before with a personal best time of 4:09, Eccleston squeezed in the top 10 of the 1500-meter USATF National Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
“I was really happy with how the meet turned out,” she said. “My main goal was to make the final and I ran a fast prelim and qualified. I was hoping to place better and run a little better in the final, but I’m very happy to have placed 10th in the country.”
Eccelston will race again Thursday at 5 p.m. in the annual National Cherry Festival’s elite golden mile race in Traverse City, Mich.
After a historical career at Hillsdale College and then for a year at the University of Michigan, the standout athlete is pursuing a professional running career fixed on making the 2016 Olympic squad. She will have to make the top three in the final the month before the 2016 Olympics start.
Hillsdale coach Bill Lundberg believes it’s an achievable goal.
“During the summer of 2012, she almost made it to the Olympic trials,” Lundberg said, noting she missed the cut by two seconds. “She’s highly regarded as a runner and definitely in the mix. She is one of the elite.”
As a Charger, Eccleston was a three-time national champion in 2012, winning the indoor 800 and 1500, and the outdoor 1500, and was named the DII Athlete of the Year as a senior. She was a six-time All-American. With a year of eligibility left, Eccleston joined the Wolverine squad, where she anchored the national championship-winning distance medley relay.
Since graduating, Eccleston has continued training in Ann Arbor with college coach Mike McGuire. After the Traverse City race, which pits Eccleston against eleven other elite competitors, she will race in a series of road-mile events across the northeast part of the country. Possible race locations include Charlevoix, Mich. Massachusetts, and Pittsburgh, Penn.
“None are qualifiers but most have prize money, so it’s nice to get a little bit of cash,” she said. “Mostly it’s just racing experience to get out and have fun with that.”
Eccleston’s other summer goal, besides race experience, is to find a sponsor for her running career. She was the only unsponsored runner in the national championship final.
“For the rest of the summer, I want to win a lot and see what I can do,” Eccleston said. “There’s not a lot of pressure, which makes them a lot of fun.”