Colorado University Athletics
Barringer Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week
February 03, 2009 | Track and Field
IRVING, Texas - University of Colorado senior harrier Jenny Barringer has been named the Big 12 Track & Field Athlete of the Week for her performance at the UW Indoor Invitational on Saturday.
Barringer set the school record in the 3,000-meter run, finishing in 8 minutes, 53.88 seconds. The time automatically qualifies her for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship March 13-14 in College Station, Texas. The time is also the fastest by a collegian this season as well as a Dempsey Indoor Stadium record.
The Oviedo, Fla. native blew out the rest of the field by more than 17 seconds and pulled away as soon as the gun sounded. More than halfway into the race, Barringer had a 12 second lead which she only increased. Lauren Centrowitz (Stanford) came in second with a time of 9:10.99.
This was her first race since finishing ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympic Games on August 16 in Beijing. It was her first indoor race since the NCAA Championship in 2006.
Barringer also became the first Buff to run the 3k in under nine minutes. Sara (Gorton) Slattery had held the 3k record for the past six years at 9:07.16. She set that mark at the NCAA Indoor Championship on March 15, 2003. Slattery took third place overall at the championship.
This is the second school record that will have Barringer's name on it. She also owns the 3,000-meter steeplechase record, which also doubles as the American record at 9:22.26.
Texas A&M's Gerald Phiri and Kansas State's Jordan Scott were awarded the men's honor. This was Barringer's first Big 12 Athlete of the Week honor in track and field.
- Colorado -
