Photo Courtesy of Kelsey Plefka

DELAWARE, Ohio - After earning All-America honors in the 10,000 meters on Thursday, Elmhurst's Alyssa Poremba closed out her trip to the NCAA Championships by earning All-America accolades in the 5,000 meters.
 Poremba, who entered the race with the 19th fastest time in the nation, set a new Elmhurst record and shaved 16 seconds off her own personal best time by placing seventh in 16:41.950. She finished just .06 seconds behind sixth-place finisher Amy Regan of Stevens Institute. The top eight finishers earn All-America accolades.

Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Christy Cazzola won the national title by crossing the finish line in 16:29.96. Cal Lutheran's Melissa Skiba placed second in 16:32.99 and Cara DeAngelis from Ohio Wesleyan palced third in 16:35.11.

"It was an amazing race for Alyssa," said Elmhurst Head Coach Erik Guta. "She came in with the 19th fastest time and ran above and beyond expectations. She has come so far this year alone. She broke two school records that I thought may never be broken. In one year, she established herself as the greatest distance runner in Elmhurst history."

Poremba's time set a new Elmhurst school record, surpassing the previous top time of 16:47.0 set by Kathleen Brice in 2003.

With Poremba's two All-American finishes, the Bluejays scored eight team points to finish tied for 30th place in the team standings.