Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
NCAA Outdoor National Championships
Barringer Wins NCAA Title; Sets Meet Record
June 13, 2008 | Track and Field
DES MOINES,
The Buffs also placed 2-3-7 in the men's 5,000-meter run. Stephen Pifer was second, Brent Vaughn in third and Kenyon Neuman was seventh. Billy Nelson took second in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Barringer ran a mark of 9 minutes, 29.20 seconds which is an NCAA Meet, collegiate, Drake Stadium and CU record. It is the second fastest time ever by an American woman. The fastest mark is 9:28.75 and belongs to Lisa Galaviz. Barringer's time is, however, the fastest time run on American soil and is the fastest mark recorded this season.
“I went into this race wanting to run hard from the start, more than anything so that I was out of traffic and didn't risk getting my shoe clipped,” Barringer said. “That was the main motivation. Secondly, my coach had on paper splits that I was supposed to aspire for if I felt good and my finishing time was 9:41. So, probably not to his disapproval, I totally overruled him.
“Literally three laps in I felt really good and I saw that I was way faster than he had me at and I decided to just go for it. How many times are you on a great track with warm weather and the track going wild? I didn't even know until I had finished that I was even close to the American record. That is huge and so exciting.”
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Barringer held the former stadium record (9:44.31), which she set in 2007 at the Midwest Region Championship. She also held the best mark by a collegiate runner at 9:33.95. Anna Willard (
“Our first goal was to win the race and our second was to challenge the collegiate record which was 9:39,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “Our race pan was built around that and she got ahead and had a really great last lap. The 9:29 was a really pleasant surprise.”
Just as she has been doing all season, Barringer took to the head of the pack from the very beginning and started to move away from the pack. Irene Kimayo (Texas Tech) and Bridget Franek (
When Barringer entered her final lap, she was over 100 meters ahead of the rest of the pack. She defeated the runner-up, Silje Fjortoft (Southern Methodist) by 26.34 seconds. Fjortoft, a freshman, crossed the finish in 9:55.54.
With the win, Barringer became the first Buff ever to win the same event twice at the NCAA outdoor meet. Adam Goucher won the indoor 3,000-meter run in1997 and 98; doing so as a junior and senior. Barringer won the title in 2006 as a true freshman, the only true freshman in school history to win a national title.
This is the third time she is an All-American in the event as she placed seventh in 2007. Barringer is also just the third female track and field athlete at CU to become a three-time All-American in the same event (Carrie Messner, mile and Kelly Smith, 1,500m).
“Doing all of this so early, it really hasn't sunk in,” Barringer said. “I'm only in my third year of college and I feel so perfectly suited for exactly where I am in my life. I love my college. I love going to class and I love my church, racing and training hard, my teammates and traveling. With everything that I am doing right now, I am just reveling in the beauty of where my life is at and I think that is maybe why I am racing so well.”
The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship was held at the Jim Duncan Track/Johnny Bright Field in Drake Stadium and Barringer, who was born in Webster City, Iowa, was a local favorite to the crowd of 11,228.
“When my family is here, I want to do well for them and it makes me nervous,” Barringer said. “There are a couple dozen or so from my family that are here. It's a family reunion since I lived in
The men's 5,000-meter run was the final event in the day and the Buffs dominated like they have all year by taking three of the top seven positions.
Pifer recorded a personal best of 13:39.34 for the runner-up finish. Vaughn was third with a time of 13:39.44 and Neuman finished in 13:45.54, also a pr.
The last time the Buffs had three men in the finals of the 5,000-meter run was in 2002. Jorge Torres finished second, Dathan Ritzenhein was third and Steve Slattery placed eighth.
“I know that Brent is disappointed after his 13:18 performance at Stanford and he was the heavy favorite,” Wetmore said. “Conditions were different here and tactics were different here so I hope they can all keep their heads up and realize that second, third and seventh is a pretty good weekend for one team.”
The three started off the race together and took turns leading. Neuman took the first couple of laps and then Pifer took the next two. During the sixth lap, Vaughn moved ahead to set the pace. The three ran 1-2-3 for four laps.
In the final lap, Villanova's
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Vaughn has run into some problems in the past at the NCAA Championship, but recorded his third All-America honor. In 2007 his plantar fascia tore during the finals of the 5k, causing him to finish 15th after he had been leading during the race. This season still looks to be a good one for Vaughn as he looks ahead.
“I guess I am halfway there,” Vaughn said. “I still have to finish this season, its only half over (U.S. Olympic Trials). The season is not over yet.”
This is the first time Pifer had competed in the 5k at the outdoor championship. He is now a two-time All-American as he earned his first honor last season in the 1,500.
“I have to be pretty pleased with the outcome,” Pifer said. “Second place is the highest I have ever finished at an NCAA Championship. It was my highest finish and a pr. I couldn't be happier except for a win. It worked out pretty well and this was higher than I have ever finished in the 1500.”
After leading for the beginning of the race, Neuman fell to 10th after 3,800. He moved back up but was getting tangled up in some traffic en route to his first All-America honor.
“People were knocking me around and I just don't know,” Neuman said. “I thought that it might be easier in the back than fighting that off but it was still in the back.
“I feel alright about my performance but I feel like I should have finished a lot higher,” Neuman said. “Maybe the leading took it out of me a little bit, but I don't think so because I felt fine at the end. I should have been able to outkick most of the guys in that group but I couldn't. I was fighting off too much physical stuff in the race and taking up too much energy.”
Billy Nelson took second in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal best of 8:28.85. It is the fourth fastest time by an American this season. His former pr was 8:33.33 which he set last year at the NCAA meet when he finished fourth.
“It's bittersweet, but definitely emphasis on the sweet,” Wetmore said. “We hoped that he would contend for the win and he did. He ran a brilliant time and I and he wishes we didn't let that gap open with 600 to go. Typically Billy can gun down almost anything but not quite that much.”
Nelson, like Barringer in the race before, took the lead from the gun. After the first lap, he was sharing the lead with Luke Gunn (
“I said if I didn't win that I wanted to pr,” Nelson said. “But being that close is a little I'm not too happy about losing. Alcorn is a tough runner. He held it out and did well.
“I feel pretty good. It was a five second pr but it is a little disappointing. I let him go a little bit with about 800 to go, because I didn't think I was going to be able to kick from that far out. I think that played a factor. I did stumble over a couple of steeples over the last 250, but Alcorn had a lot left and he deserves the win.”
This is Nelson's fourth outdoor All-America honor and his third in the steeplechase. The mark ranked third on CU's all-time list behind two times set by Steve Slattery (8:26.45 and 8:26.51).
“From a team standpoint that is a nice chuck of points (24),” Wetmore said. “We are probably going to leave this meet with the most points ever for men. Second, third and seventh are performances that we should be happy with.”
The U.S. Olympic Trials are June 26-July 6 in
2008 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP
Drake Stadium, Jim Duncan Track/Johnny Bright Field
Track Events (CU Athletes Only)
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase: 1. Jenny Barringer, 9:29.20
Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase: 2. Billy Nelson, 8:28.85
Men's 5,000-Meter Run: 2. Stephen Pifer, 13:39.34; 3. Brent Vaughn, 13:39.44; 7. Kenyon Neuman, 13:45.54
