Some say records are made to be broken.
That was the case this weekend as Courtney Frerichs was crowned as a national champion among some of the best athletes in Eugene, Oregon.
Frerichs helped bring a 2015 National Championship in cross country to New Mexico in the fall. On Saturday, she did the same things she’s been doing all season in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase - dominate.
When the gun went off the senior moved her way to the front of the pack right away and never looked back. She continued to increase her lead throughout and won the race by almost 17 seconds, with a time of 9:24.41.
She already held the fastest collegiate time in the country this year; now she has the fastest in history, breaking the record set by Colorado’s Jenny Barringer set in 2009.
“I was really emotional last night thinking about this year,” Frerichs said in her post-race interview. “It’s more than I could have ever dreamed about. I’m just so thankful to share it with so many incredible women at New Mexico.”
As Frerichs raced down the final stretch, the crowd gave her a huge ovation. Head coach Joe Franklin said the crowd is very knowledgeable at the venue and the fans are unlike any other.
Jannell Hadnot and Aasha Marler were competing in the women’s triple jump during Frerich’s historic run, but were unable to advance to the finals. Hadnot finished 17th with a mark of 42 feet, 3 1/4 inches, while Marler hit 41 feet, 8 inches to finish 20th.
The event saw another NCAA mark go down, as Georgia’s Keturah Orji broke out for a leap of 47 feet, 8 inches.
In other field events, Mississippi’s Raven Saunders set a new collegiate mark in the women’s shot put with a toss of 63 feet 5 inches, while Maggie Malone of Arkansas uncorked a toss of 204 feet in the women’s javelin event.
On the track, Texas A&M set new NCAA records as Donavan Brazier took the men’s 800-meter race in 1:45.07 and Shamier Little registered a 53.51 time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
Sophie Connor and Emily Hosker-Thornhill competed in the women’s 1,500-meter run. Connor advanced to the final and finished 11th at 4:17.27.
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The New Mexico men were shut out over the four-day event, but turned in some strong performances along the way. Freshman Josh Kerr advanced to the finals, and ran a time of 3:50.00 in the men’s 1500-meter event.
Elmar Engholm finished the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 14th place, setting a new personal record at 8:37.44. And Allan Hamilton jumped into 23rd with a leap of 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches.
Head coach Joe Franklin said they protested a foul on a jump that could have advanced Hamilton to the finals, but the decision was upheld.
While Engholm and Hamilton are finished competing as Lobos, Kerr can use the experience he gained this weekend for years to come as he continues to build on a strong foundation.
Franklin said Kerr is very young, and has a bright future. He said the freshman is scheduled to compete in the 2016 World Junior Championships, where he will gain even more experience.
Alice Wright also registered points for the Lobos in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Franklin said Wright ran the race she wanted exactly as she planned and earned runner-up honors with a time of 32:46.99.
Wright led for much of the race, but fell behind near the end of the grueling event. She made a final push on and finished behind Arkansas’ Dominique Scott, who doubled by also winning the 5,000-meter run.
“I went to about sixth with six laps left. To be honest I was a bit like, ‘oh no, what happened,’” Wright said. But I just really gritted my teeth and stayed with the group and gave it everything in the last 200 meters.”
In the 5,000-meter event, UNM’s Calli Thackery got off to a solid start, but was unable to finish.
Perhaps the biggest performance was turned in by Arkansas’ Jarrion Lawson, who became the first individual triple champion since Jesse Owens did so 80 years ago. He took home top honors in the men’s 100-meter, 200-meter, and long jump events.
His performance was not quite enough as Florida scored 62 points to edge out Arkansas by six points to win the men’s championship. On the women’s side, Arkansas came from behind to log 72 points and finish ahead of host Oregon.
The New Mexico women’s squad earned a total of 18 points and finished 15th overall. It is the highest point total and final standing in program history.
“They left it all on the line,” Franklin said. “They all had a chance (to score), and they all did a great job.”
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
