About
In the Spring of 2022 Dana started training with the Emerging Elites club.
As a freshman at Belmont High School, Dana found that her fitness from soccer quickly translated to running when she ran a season of indoor track. Following indoors, Dana started training with the Emerging Elites club to train with faster teammates.
Running in her first outdoor season of high school track, Dana lowered her mile PR to 5:19.34 and placed 7th at the MIAA Division 2 Outdoor Championships. Dana decided to focus on her running and stepped away from her club soccer team. Dana trained with Emerging Elites for the summer between freshman year and sophomore year to improve her fitness for her fall soccer season.
Heading into indoors of sophomore year, Dana decided to focus on her training and race selectively while improving her fitness. She trained and competed for Emerging Elites for the indoor season. Dana made great strides forward in her training and racing, lowering her 800m PR to 2:20.81 and her mile PR to 5:08.01. This set her up to realize even bigger fitness gains outdoors.
For her sophomore outdoor track season, Dana continued training with Emerging Elites and raced for Belmont High School. At the Middlesex League Championships, Dana placed second in the 2 Mile, running 11:05.54, a massive 41 second PR. Setting her sights on the mile, Dana was excited to race it at the MIAA Division 2 Championships, placing first in 5:00.98, tantalizingly close to her first sub-5:00 mile. The following week at the MIAA Meet of Champions, Dana was determined to make the race an honest effort from the gun. Doing the work up front, Dana pushed the pace to ensure a sub-5:00 effort. When the she crossed the line, Dana stopped the clock at a sterling 4:56.81 for her breakthrough first sub-5:00 mile!
Her sophomore spring was a period of massive improvement and she translated her fitness gains into strong racing performances. With consistent training and selective racing, Dana slashed 5 seconds off her 800m PR, running 2:15.56, a solid 12 seconds off her mile PR, running 4:56.81, and a whooping 41 seconds off her 2 mile PR, running 11:05.54. This is a big springboard forward in her fitness and athletic development!
Dana was excited to race at New Balance Nationals Outdoor at UPenn’s Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Racing in the Rising Stars 2 Mile on Friday morning, Dana was eager to lower her 2 Mile PR of 11:05 and break 11-minutes for the first time. When the gun went off, Dana ran quickly to the front and broke from the competitors in a lead pack of three. Passing through the mile mark in 5:20.2, Dana knew the 11 minute benchmark was going to be broken, the second mile would determine by how much. With one lap to go, Dana took off, running a speedy 74.67 to close out her 2 mile in a huge PR of 10:41.59! Way to go Dana!
Remarkably, Dana entered the year with an 11:47 2 Mile PR and has lowered it by 65+ seconds! For her efforts, Dana has earned her qualifying mark for the 3000m at the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene in July. What an incredible accomplishment for the Belmont sophomore!
Dana finished off her NBNO races with a strong 4:57.88 in the Championship Mile, placing 33rd overall.
Dana had the opportunity to travel to Montreal, Canada to race the 800m at La Classique d'athlétisme de Montréal on June 29th. Dana capitalized on the fast race and hung on to the leaders for the first part of the race. She made a bold move with 400m to go and finished 4th in the Open Women’s 800m division in 2:18.12.
After a strong fall season with the Belmont Girls Varsity Soccer team, Dana turned her focus to training and racing for the indoor season. Focusing on putting in a solid block of training in December, Dana opened up her competitive season in January with a 5:04.53 mile at the Marathon Sports Winter Classic. She then set her focus on racing two events, the 800m and mile, at the BU Terrier Classic. Dana opened her day with a 2:16.88 800m and then came back that afternoon and ran 4:59.67, her first time breaking 5 minutes indoors. This was a solid double! Dana raced the 3000m at the BU Valentine meet and broke 10-minutes for the first time in a new lifetime PR of 9:54.81. In her scholastic championship season, Dana captured the Middlesex League mile title in a conservative 5:10.79. At the MIAA Division 2 meet, Dana placed as the state runner-up in 5:02.12. Looking to close out the MIAA season on a high note, Dana placed second at the MIAA Indoor Meet of Champions in a new indoor PR of 4:59.66 alongside her Emerging Elites teammate Charlotte Tuxbury.
Dana wanted to try something new at New Balance Nationals Indoor and challenged herself to the 5000m. The goal was to get a feel for 25 laps indoors and Dana accomplished that goal in 18:01.27. She came back on Sunday to race the Championship Mile in 5:05.44. This was a big double for Dana to take on and she was excited to take on the challenge of her first 5000m on the track and doubling back on tired legs for a solid mile effort.
For her junior outdoor campaign, Dana got rolling at the Battle Road Twilight Meet #1 in the 3000m, running another sub-10 minute 3000m performance with her 9:59.37. Dana was invited to the HOKA Bay State Running Invitational Mile and turned in a massive PR to win the invitational mile in 4:54.64. This was a breakthrough performance for Dana to compete for the win and earn a 2 second mile PR! For the scholastic outdoor championship season, Dana wanted to run different events. At the MIAA Division 2 Meet, Dana turned in a pair of runner-up performances in the mile (4:56.23 behind EE teammate Charlotte Tuxbury) and in the 800m (2:16.13). She then raced the distance double at the MIAA Meet of Champions taking third in the mile in 4:57.00 and taking the win in the 2 mile in a new PR of 10:36.51 to capture her first MIAA Meet of Champions All-State title. This was a signature win for Dana and it was fitting to see consistent efforts rewarded atop the podium. In her final prep for NBNO, Dana dropped down to race the girls scholastic mile at the Adrian Martinez Classic, taking 2nd place in 4:55.09 next to fellow Emerging Elites athlete Emmy O’Donnell.
For her final race of the year, Dana returned to Franklin Field for NBNO Championship Girls 2 Mile. Dana had won the Rising Stars 2 Mile at NBNO as a sophomore and was eager to race in the championship section as a junior. Weather delays moved the NBNO Championship 2 Miles from Friday night to Saturday morning and Dana rolled with the new meet schedule and locked in a new PR of 10:31.56 for 6th place in the unseeded championship section. This was an incredible outdoor season for Dana punctuated with signature wins and big PRs!
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