WAVERLY, Iowa — With her race not until 5:20 p.m., Ellen Koranda (Blue Earth, Minn.) spent the majority of Thursday alone in her motel room.

To make matters worse, Mother Nature pushed Koranda's NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship 1,500 race back nearly two more hours.

And, unfortunately for Koranda, when the starter's gun finally did sound, the pack wouldn't wait for the SMU senior.

"It was probably the worst heat I could have been in," said Koranda, who posted a time of 4:45.51, but failed to qualify for Saturday's 1,500 finals. "The race started out so quick, then it slowed down, then sped up again, which is the worst type of race for me. I have no problem kicking it in over the last 400 meters, but everyone went out so fast, it just wasn't the race I was expecting."

Neither was assistant coach Ward Berndt.

"Ellen's style is to run consistent splits," explained Berndt. "That heat wasn't consistent at all — the pace just didn't suit Ellen."

How good was Koranda's heat? She finished ninth in the heat, and the eight runners ahead of her all qualified for the finals.

"I'm disappointed, because I felt I probably could have done a little better," said Koranda, who was making her second straight NCAA national appearance. "But I'm happy to have just gotten to this point, To make it to nationals for a second year in a row is nice."