Senior shatters her own school record by nearly 12.5 seconds.
California University of Pennsylvania senior Julie Friend earned First-Team All-America honors and reset her own school record in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday night during the final day of the NCAA Championships.
Friend garnered All-America laurels for the third time in her track & field career while competing in the 3,000 meters for the first time at the NCAA Championships. She finished the race in fifth place after being seeded 14th in the event with a time of 9 minutes, 31.13 seconds, shattering her own school record set earlier this season by nearly 12.5 seconds.
A Uniontown product, Friend set out to lead the opening three laps of the race for about 3:30 and stayed in the top five for the entirety of the race. At the six-minute mark of the race, bumping and pushing started among the top runners, but Friend moved to pass on the outside in lane three to secure a First-Team All-America finish.
Western State senior Alicia Konieczek claimed the national title by under seven-tenths of a second with a time of 9:29.39 after she sat in fifth place entering the last 300 meters of the race.
Friend joins classmate Summer Hill as the only women's track & field student-athletes
in school history to receive All-America status three times in a career.
The Vulcans open the outdoor season on March 24 when they host the annual Early Bird
Invitational at Roadman Park.
—Courtesy of Cal U Athletics