Dallas City Wire

DBU's Brown & Insinna Shine at Last Chance Qualifier Meet in Boston

THE RUNDOWN
Over the weekend, DBU sent Marissa Insinna and Madison Brown to compete at the 2023 Last Chance Qualifier in Boston, MA with the hopes of running fast enough marks to be considered for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships.  Neither disappointed, running their best races of the year to slot in the upper echelon of the Indoor Track Qualifying List.
 
Marissa Insinna started off the day with the best mile performance in DBU history.  Finishing seventh overall and ranked 29th in Division II, Insinna came through the finish with a blistering time of 4:50.68.  Her previous best stood as the previous school record, shattered by over four seconds.  Though her mark will almost certainly fall short of a national championship bid, it was only a sign of what was to come later in the day.
 
Madison Brown was next on the track, racing the 3000m with the hopes of improving her position at 20th in Division II.  Last year, Brown's mark of 9:36.76 was the last time to make the national field, the 20th-fastest time that year.  Though she improved her time from the previous year to a 9:34.97, her position on the leaderboards felt unsafe, especially with the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference), GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), and NSIC (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) championship meets convening for their final races.  In her final opportunity to feel comfortable making the field, Brown strode out for a new DBU school record in the 3000m, crossing the finish line in 9:24.31.  Her new best mark is the eighth-fastest mark in Division II and will be an obvious selection to race at the National Championships.
 
Though Insinna had blasted through her previous school record and Brown had secured a spot in the 2023 National Field, the day was not over.  Not even an hour after her 3000m race was complete, Brown regrouped with Insinna for their final event of the weekend, the 5000m run.  Neither Insinna nor Brown had recorded a 5000m mark for the indoor season, but the event was ripe with potential for a fast time to fly up the leaderboards to a secure national ranking.  Though the field consisted of only seven runners, and no one was close to the Lady Patriots, they worked together to hold the necessary pace.  While the laps counted down, their splits showed promise as long as they could hold their speed through the waning laps of the 200m banked track.  As both crossed the finish line simultaneously and the final times flashed to the facility scoreboard, they knew they had done what they came to do.  Brown's time of 16:33.18 barely out-leaned Insinna's 16:33.22, but together they slotted into the 11th and 12th positions in Division II, comfortably in the selection zone for the National Championships.  Brown's time blew past the DBU indoor record, a 26-second improvement while Insinna ran another personal-best mark on the day, breaking the 17:00 barrier in the 5000m for the first time in her career.
 
For Coach Jacob Phillips, there are few meets that from start to finish are chalked with DBU successes like the one he witnessed on the campus of Boston University.  Brown and Insinna have been cornerstones of the type of program he has built since he started almost 20 years ago.  Though not highly touted in the high school ranks, Brown and Insinna bought into the patient grind of improvement every year, living the life necessary to be great.  In the words of Phillips, "There were lots of ups and downs along the way.  But, every year, they've done more work.  Every year they've improved.  Every year, they've grown as athletes.  Every year, they've been consistent.  Every year, they've been tougher.  Every year, they've grown in confidence."  Their success was forged through the summers and seasons, days stacked on weeks stacked on months stacked on years.  The message is clear: Stay the course.  There is a reward waiting at the end for those who diligently seek it. 
 
Though both with likely see their names on the national championship lists in the coming days, the selections have yet to be made.  If chosen, Brown and Insinna will travel to compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Virginia Beach, VA on March 10 and 11. 
  

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