The meteoric rise of ISU distance runner Dani Stack continued last week, as she ran her way to a personal record and a 12th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Stack’s emergence began with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships. This finish came after she failed to even qualify for the regional event the year before.

“It was a really good experience. It was definitely a different type of race than I had been used to,” Stack said. “It was nice to actually go out with a faster pace and kind of just see what I could do, and see if I can run with those girls.”

The ISU sophomore clocked a 33:04.17 in Eugene, blowing her previous personal best out of the water by 21 seconds.

Nike’s Shalane Flanagan won the event in a time of 30:59.97.

“I knew there was going to be a group of elite runners that were untouchable, and then there was going to be a group of really good runners that weren’t quite at that same level,” Stack said. “I just wanted to run with that second pack and just try to hold on.”

Both Stack and her coaches said that this was the way they wanted to cap off a season that was filled with improvement.

“I think, after nationals, she felt like she has some unfinished business, and that’s why she wanted to do the USAs,” said ISU assistant track coach Travis Hartke. “I think it’s helped her progressionwise, just to know where she is in the grand scheme of things.”

The 12th-place finish made Stack the first collegiate runner to cross the finish line at Hayward Field — an achievement to build on for next year.

“It just shows how much work I put in this season. I knew that I was ready to run faster than I had all season,” Stack said “There’s a lot of good college girls, and there were a couple good ones in that race, so it was pretty cool to finish first. It gives me confidence knowing that I could beat some pretty good collegiate girls.”

Stack was not the only Cyclone to compete in Eugene, as Danielle Frere finished 16th in the shot put and Jenny Dillon was 16th in the heptathlon.