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Kansas City
NCAA Indoor Championships
Frerichs Breaks School Record and Finishes Fifth at NCAA 'Ships
3/13/2015 10:01:00 PM | Track and Field
(Fayetteville, Ark.) -- The outstanding senior from Nixa, Mo., Courtney Frerichs, finished her final indoor season as a 'Roo at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the Randal Tyson Center. Frerichs finished fifth overall and set a new UMKC record for the women's 5000m with her time of 15:47.56.
Head Coach Shamieka McField spoke proudly, "We are really excited to have Courtney as our first female indoor All-American. She has worked hard and deserves it. Coach Butler was very strategic with her training and she believed in what they were doing."
"The race began as a nail biter but ended in celebration and plenty of smiles. This is phenomenal for her and UMKC Athletics."
Coach Butler on Frerichs performance, "Courtney ran a very smart race. She stuck to our prerace plan and executed it well. Indoor nationals is a very high pressure environment and she performed exceptionally for it being her first time here."
Frerichs with uncanny abilities, broke her previous record, as well as the school record of 15:48.12 in the event. During the final showdown, Frerichs ran a personal best through the first 3,000 meters while her last 800 meters of the race was faster than any open 800m race at 2:23. It was a battle at the finish line as the runners fought neck and neck for third through fifth place, with third finishing just .2 seconds from fourth, while fourth was .04 seconds from fifth place.
Frerichs spoke about the challenges during the race, "The race went out extremely fast which is definitely not my racing style. I had to focus on keeping my composure and focus on moving up slowly. We were definitely extremely bunched and I was pushed around and even spiked but I really just focused on staying calm. It was such an incredible race to be in. "
"I am so excited to be able to finish my last indoor season with such an amazing honor. Getting to indoor nationals was the goal for the season so to be able to come away with an All-American title is more than I could ask for."
With her performance, Frerichs becomes a four-time All-American, the only person in school history in any sport to achieve the feat.
Coach Butler on Courtney's season, "It's quite a challenge to perform well enough to qualify for indoor nationals and then to run well on the day. The fact that she finished with a PR shows we are doing things the right way and it will prepare her for a great outdoor season as well."
Frerichs is looking forward to outdoor season, "I am super excited for outdoor season. The steeplechase is definitely my strongest event and I have some pretty big goals for the season. I want to make it back to the NCAA outdoor meet and I would really like to go for the title this year. I am also hoping to break 9:30 and take a shot at making the World Championship team. Finally, I want to help out the team as much as possible at conference so we can come away with a team title! We are going to have an incredible team and we are hungry for a win. "
Players Mentioned
