It was the final event for Penn women's track Thursday at the Penn Relays, and after a 90-minute deluge earlier in the day, the start time was pushing 10 p.m.
Leslie Kovach didn't seem mind the delay. Under the lights at Franklin Field, the sophomore demolished a Penn record in the 5000m women's championship, finishing fourth overall with a time of 16:11.59. The previous record, set by Stacy Kim in 2008, was 16:20.68.
Kovach grabbed a good inside position from the start and was able to stay near the front of the 28-woman field. She moved up to fourth about halfway through the race and broke into third for a few laps, as Emily MacLeod of Michigan State and Lydia Kosgei of Eastern Kentucky separated themselves in first and second, respectively. Kovach fell back to fourth with two laps to go and finished two seconds behind Texas' Sarah Sutherland.
The standout distance runner was already named 2011 indoor All-East for her performance in the 5000.
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