Sarussi has MVP final season for UIC women’s track

Ally Sarussi had quite a senior sendoff with the Washington University women’s track and field team as part of its 2024 NCAA Division III national team champion. The 2020 Lyons Township High School graduate, however, still had one season of eligibility and a graduate degree to pursue. 

“I was going to take a gap year, but then I kind of thought I have an opportunity to run another year,” Sarussi said. “I love track a lot so I might as well take the opportunity while getting my degree.”

As a grad student this spring, Sarussi had her best individual season for the University of Illinois Chicago. She was named the team’s Most Valuable Performer and athletic department’s Female Newcomer of the Year for non-freshmen after qualifying for the NCAA Division I postseason in the 1,500-meter run following her lifetime-best, school-record 4:19.35 at the Missouri Valley Conference Meet.

At the NCAA West First Round May 30 in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Sarussi was ninth in her heat (4:25.74) and 34th overall as the No. 40 seed among 48 entries. 

“It was very cool to be able to go to that. It’s insane facilities and to get to compete with some of the best athletes in the nation was exciting, a rewarding experience,” Sarussi said. “My parents got to see me race there so it was a memorable way to cap off my career.”

She became the first UIC women’s track and field athlete to compete on the national level in a track event and the third in combined women’s and men’s track and field history. She has one more year of school at UIC as she pursues her doctorate in physical therapy after graduating from WashU with a degree in anthropology and minor in psychology.

“Winning the [MVP] award was cool but it was more fun to do the exciting things on the track and get to know my teammates better and develop some long-lasting relationships and push myself to a new level,” Sarussi said. “I definitely learned a lot about myself as a person and athlete in terms of how I was able to come onto the team and deal with this new training plan and how I was able to be coached by a totally different person. It really proved my adaptability.” 

Sarussi’s competitiveness also helped. The MVC Meet May 17-18 in Carbondale could have been Sarussi’s finale. The 4:19.35 became her ultimate moment.

“I’m going to remember that conference final race for a long time,” Sarussi said. 

She wanted to break 4:20 after a second-fastest 4:28.93 in prelims and personal-best 4:25.63 from the Drake Relays April 23. The top-three finish — just .15 ahead of fourth place — also gave Sarussi all-conference honors and put her on the awards podium after finishing fourth in the 800 (2:10.34) at the indoor MVC Meet. She also was part of the eighth-place 4 x 400 relay’s school-record 3:52.92. 

Considering the West First Round’s slowest seed time was 4:22.50, Sarussi also advanced to NCAA’s because of the 4:19.35.

“I just competed the best I ever had to make the podium at conference,” Sarussi said. “I don’t really know how I did it. I was just pushing to get top three and to have that 4:19 come along with it, I knew my body could do it. It just took everything in me and everything had to go perfectly. I’ll definitely take that one with me.” 

Previously, Sarussi was known mainly for 800s. At LTHS, she was part of all-state 4 x 800 relays in 2019 (3rd) and 2018 (7th). She never ran at state for cross country but joined LTHS teammates at Nike Cross Regionals.

For WashU, Sarussi had six top-eight Division III All-American performances – four individually and two in relays, including the 2023 indoor national championship with the distance medley relay. The COVID-affected 2020 season gave athletes like Sarussi an additional season of eligibility.

Approaching the 2024 outdoor nationals, Sarussi had been All-American three times in the 800 but began adding the 1,500 to help the Bears get team points. Sarussi just missed the 800 finals with 10th but was an All-American third in the 1,500 (4:28.74). The Bears (71 points) won their second national team title by 23.5 points after being third outdoors in 2023 and 2022. 

“We worked for that for so long. Winning Division III nationals was such a highlight, such a way to cap it off. We had a really strong senior class,” Sarussi said. “Just through the four years at WashU and with UIC, I learned so much about drive and commitment. I really do love track a lot and it helped me grow so much as a person. It’s tested my perseverance and to set and reach new goals and have that happen alongside being a student, it’s something I’m proud of.”

Coming to UIC, Sarussi was fourth in the 800 (2:10.34) at the indoor MVC Meet after an injury-affected cross country season. With more specified training, she began to flourish in the 1,500. 

Her first 1,500 outdoors happened to be at WashU March 28 in St. Louis (2nd in 4:30.06) – an emotional return with her UIC teammates and coaches while reuniting with former ones.

“I just felt really lucky to be there and lucky I’d gone to school there. The race didn’t go as well as I’d hoped but everyone brought me up and supported me,” Sarussi said.

After NCAAs, Sarussi went out a winner in her last competitive race “for the foreseeable future.” 

At the Magis Mile June 7 at St. Ignatius, Sarussi won the Elite division and top-seeded final women’s race with a meet-best 4:46.89 mile (4:27.98 for 1,500 meters).

“I wanted to be competitive and try to win it. It was a good opportunity to do that against a field (mainly) of really good high school girls,” Sarussi said. “Definitely going into it, I was excited for one more time to get a good mile time while I was still in shape basically.” 

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