When the ISU women’s track and field team traveled to Fayetteville, Ark. on Jan. 31, redshirt senior Katy Moen left behind some unfinished business.

As the 2015 indoor season enters its last lap, Moen will return to the location she made her season debut for her final 3,000-meter indoor race.

Making the reservations to the NCAA Championships, however, required both time and patience.

“She stopped pressing and trying to chase that time and kind of just let that go,” said ISU coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. “And the tension of trying to qualify and chase the standard. I think we didn’t fully appreciate how hard that had been on her. Letting it go put her in a better mindset … good things come from that a lot of times.” 

Entering the final indoor season of her track and field career, Moen got off to a quick start, recording a personal best time of 9:10.76 in the 3,000-meter run during her first competition of the season at the Razorback Team Invitational. 

But the Iowa State Classic provided a level of frustration uncommon for Moen. In her first home competition of the season, Moen completed the 3,000-meter run two seconds slower than the time she ran in Arkansas.

And the frustration never subdued.

“I haven’t been feeling super great,” Moen said. “I can tell that something’s a little off. Generally not feeling good during runs is a little frustrating.”  

Entering the Big 12 Championship, the goal for Moen was to earn a qualifying time to NCAAs in the 5,000-meter run. Despite placing third in the event, Moen was unable to post a time good enough to hold up for nationals and the goals changed.

“[Moen] didn’t have a great night in the [5,000-meter],” Grove-McDonough said. “There were some tears of frustration in the locker room that evening. We decided we were going to accept that NCAA Indoors wasn’t going to happen and we were just going to try and go out there and run for the team.”

With the pressure of qualifying for the NCAA Championships off her shoulders, Moen stepped onto the Harry Hoak Track for one final home race as a Cyclone.

Saving the best for last, Moen outpaced her previous personal best time in the 3000-meter and earned a qualifying time for nationals. 

As the lone representative of the ISU women’s track and field team in the national indoor meet, Moen’s goal is simple — go out and race competitively.

“I’m really excited. I had a really good run [Monday morning] and [Sunday], so hopefully things are turning around a little bit,” Moen said.