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April 29, 2010
“I was more concerned with the check-in point because they have such strict time schedules at the Drake Relays,” she said. “I was worried I wasn’t going to be at the right place at the right time.”
It’s an understandable concern. The Drake Relays is one of the biggest Division I track meets in the country. Dell’Orco was making her first appearance.
For Dell’Orco, who never made the Missouri 4 state track meet when she went to Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, this was a big-time stage.
Despite a few jitters, Dell’Orco was ready for it. She finished second in the 5K, clocking in with a NCAA Division II national automatic qualifying time of 16:45.13.
Her mark broke a 20-year school record of 16:49.44 held by Kerry Knepper and it currently ranks as the top time in the MIAA, over 7 seconds better than Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank.
“It was a little surreal,” Dell’Orco said. “I got the school record and second at the Drake Relays. There was a lot going on there, a lot to absorb, but I definitely felt like I was on cloud nine.”
Simply put, Dell’Orco has come far in the two years since leaving high school.
There were no track scholarships awaiting her, nor college coaches recruiting her.
Dell’Orco became a student-athlete in the purest sense. Once she decided she was going to Truman, she met with the coaches and asked if she could walk on.
“She came and talked to us,” Truman track coach John Cochrane said. “Coach Tim Schwegler and I thought she could help us out.
“Why did we want her? We knew she had potential to help us.
She became what Cochrane has seen often from track athletes who come to MIAA schools.
“It’s thrilling to see that whether they are your athletes or somebody else’s in conference,” Cochrane said. “It seems to happen in our conference quite a bit. Our coaches are able to improve people. That’s why it’s a very good track and cross country conference.
“It’s not really a miracle. She’s worked at things and things have worked out for her.”
Dell’Orco’s determination actually started before her senior year in high school. She had a goal of reaching the state meet in cross country.
Instead of getting discouraged after failing to make state, Dell’Orco put another goal in front of her. She wanted to run the 2-mile run in 12 minutes.
“I started averaging 40 miles per week on my own and my times did drop significantly in track, but I hit a wall at 12:18 and I never got down to 12-minute mark,” she said.
Another disappointment only fueled her to run more.
“I couldn’t let running go and I wasn’t satisfied with ending my running career there,” she said.
And now Dell’Orco is one of the top distance runners in the MIAA.
Only a couple of weeks ago she earned MIAA athlete of the week in track after she finished the 10K with another NCAA Division II automatic qualifying time of 35:23.82. It ranks second in conference behind Shank’s 34:56.57.
What it all means is that the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 8-9 at Pittsburg State will have some very competitive female distance races.
Dell’Orco will compete in both the 5K and 10K. She is eager to run against Shank and Northwest Missouri sophomore Angela Adams, and all the other strong runners.
“I look forward to racing those girls because I think it is fun. We kind of push each other,” she said. “I definitely enjoy it.”
Cochrane said those races will be very interesting because there are so many talented female distance runners.
“Missouri Southern has good runners. Angela Adams from Northwest is good,” Cochrane said. “We got Karen Grauel who is not too bad. It’s kind of interesting right now.”
Determination Leads Dell'Orco to Success
By David Boyce
Before competing in the 5K last weekend at the Drake Relays,
Truman sophomore Dani Dell’Orco had one worry almost bigger
than the fact she was competing against mostly NCAA Division I
athletes.
“I was more concerned with the check-in point because they have such strict time schedules at the Drake Relays,” she said. “I was worried I wasn’t going to be at the right place at the right time.”
It’s an understandable concern. The Drake Relays is one of the biggest Division I track meets in the country. Dell’Orco was making her first appearance.
For Dell’Orco, who never made the Missouri 4 state track meet when she went to Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, this was a big-time stage.
Despite a few jitters, Dell’Orco was ready for it. She finished second in the 5K, clocking in with a NCAA Division II national automatic qualifying time of 16:45.13.
Her mark broke a 20-year school record of 16:49.44 held by Kerry Knepper and it currently ranks as the top time in the MIAA, over 7 seconds better than Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank.
“It was a little surreal,” Dell’Orco said. “I got the school record and second at the Drake Relays. There was a lot going on there, a lot to absorb, but I definitely felt like I was on cloud nine.”
Simply put, Dell’Orco has come far in the two years since leaving high school.
There were no track scholarships awaiting her, nor college coaches recruiting her.
Dell’Orco became a student-athlete in the purest sense. Once she decided she was going to Truman, she met with the coaches and asked if she could walk on.
“She came and talked to us,” Truman track coach John Cochrane said. “Coach Tim Schwegler and I thought she could help us out.
“Why did we want her? We knew she had potential to help us.
We didn’t know how much she would help us. Sometimes you get lucky.”
Dell‘Orco showed her ability to succeed at the college
level right away. She finished second in the MIAA in the 10K as a
freshman. Her times consistently got better.
She became what Cochrane has seen often from track athletes who come to MIAA schools.
“It’s thrilling to see that whether they are your athletes or somebody else’s in conference,” Cochrane said. “It seems to happen in our conference quite a bit. Our coaches are able to improve people. That’s why it’s a very good track and cross country conference.
“It’s not really a miracle. She’s worked at things and things have worked out for her.”
Dell’Orco’s determination actually started before her senior year in high school. She had a goal of reaching the state meet in cross country.
Instead of getting discouraged after failing to make state, Dell’Orco put another goal in front of her. She wanted to run the 2-mile run in 12 minutes.
“I started averaging 40 miles per week on my own and my times did drop significantly in track, but I hit a wall at 12:18 and I never got down to 12-minute mark,” she said.
Another disappointment only fueled her to run more.
“I couldn’t let running go and I wasn’t satisfied with ending my running career there,” she said.
“It was a series of disappointments and some setbacks
that definitely pushed me to pursue collegiate
athletics.”
And now Dell’Orco is one of the top distance runners in the MIAA.
Only a couple of weeks ago she earned MIAA athlete of the week in track after she finished the 10K with another NCAA Division II automatic qualifying time of 35:23.82. It ranks second in conference behind Shank’s 34:56.57.
What it all means is that the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 8-9 at Pittsburg State will have some very competitive female distance races.
Dell’Orco will compete in both the 5K and 10K. She is eager to run against Shank and Northwest Missouri sophomore Angela Adams, and all the other strong runners.
“I look forward to racing those girls because I think it is fun. We kind of push each other,” she said. “I definitely enjoy it.”
Cochrane said those races will be very interesting because there are so many talented female distance runners.
“Missouri Southern has good runners. Angela Adams from Northwest is good,” Cochrane said. “We got Karen Grauel who is not too bad. It’s kind of interesting right now.”
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA,
e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
