Sophomore Ran 2:06.51 Season Opener at BU on Dec. 7

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

On Dec. 7 while many of the top high school distance runners were capping off their cross country season at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, Roisin Willis was in Boston starting her track season.

Willis, a sophomore from Stevens Point, WI, set an early standard in the 800 meters that will be hard to beat, running 2:06.51 to win the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. It's a time that moves her to No. 3 on the all-time sophomore list.

"My cross country season ended in early November, which was maybe a little bit of a disappointment, but it gave me the opportunity to just jump right into track,” Willis said. “I just put a couple more weeks of training in, and I already had the endurance base from cross country, so it was just adding more speed.”

Willis said she's always done a race in December and was seeking an east coast meet with strong competition to gauge where she was at. Her time was run against a heavily populated collegiate field.

"(An) indoor open, you never really know what people are capable of or what the competition will be like at that time of year,” Willis said. “But I just tried to take the pace right away and tried to run away with it.”

Behind her, freshman Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown RI finished second with a US#2 time of 2:08.57.

Last winter, Willis burst onto the national scene as a freshman when she upset Athing Mu, the 600 meters American record holder, at the New Balance National Indoor Championships in the 800. Willis won the event in 2:05.70, while Mu was second in 2:05.86. She went on to win the Brooks PR Invitational in the outdoor season in personal-best time of 2:04.86, and finished the season second in the USATF U20 National Championships (2:06.99).

Willis completed a successful and productive cross country season, winning her sectional meet (18:39), placing third at the Division 1 state meet (18:20.9) and ending the season 36th at NXR Heartland. 

“I think I already have a huge start from where I was last year, and I feel a lot stronger in the 800,” Willis said. “I have a much better handle on it now because of 5K training and the speed is still there.”

Willis’ indoor schedule will focus primarily on meets in the midwest, but she and her coach, Nate Olson, are looking at a big February race to get in a good time. The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston is set for Jan. 25, while the Millrose Games are slated for Feb. 8 -- two marquee events that Willis could potentially draw an invite to. 

“One of those big invitationals would be a real honor to go to," Willis said. “I feel like a better time is coming just because of the work I did in cross country and a lot of things weren't shown in (outdoor) track season. I’m looking for improvement in time, but I'd also like to learn how I can improve in the event.”

Willis' continued improvement could edge her closer and closer to the two-minute barrier.

“Just to already be where I was in February last year, it just gives  me a little more confidence going into 2020,” she said.