UW photo
Wyoming junior Emily Higgins won the steeplechase Friday at the Mountain West Conference Championships.
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by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org
Wyoming junior Emily Higgins ran nearly 12 miles in about a 40-minute span for one of the most eventful days of her career.
Higgins won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title on the third day of the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.
Higgins won the event with a time of 11 minutes, 5.88 seconds, which qualified her for the Regional Championships in Norman, Okla., on May 29-30.
After embracing her victory, she then competed in the 1,500-meter preliminary race almost 20 minutes later to take fifth in her heat with a time of 5:08.13. She missed qualifying for the finals in the 1,500 by two seconds.
Coming into the MWC meet, Higgins was ranked second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and fourth in the 1,500-meter run. Although her place in the 1,500-meter run was less than expected and her time did not meet her personal best, it was still a very good day.
“It’s really sweet. Especially to be able to do this at home,” Higgins said. “To have conference here I really feel like I’m peaking at the right time and that’s thanks to Coach (Randy) Cole and the training.”
To be able to run both events in a short time span was difficult for Higgins, but she was ready for the challenge.
“It was interesting,” Higgins said. “It definitely was a challenge, but I feel like that Coach (Cole) has trained us really well. To be able to train at this altitude has really helped us out.”
Cole said that Higgins persuaded him to give her a shot at the steeplechase.
“I knew she was very good at the 3,000-meter run, but I didn’t know she was this good at it,” Cole said. “She is a very athletic girl who really showed her fitness level by turning around and almost qualifying in the 1,500. I really didn’t want to push her that much and have her run it but she told me she would give it a shot.”
With the victory, the Cowgirls hope to carry momentum into the final day of the championships.
"We’ve had some really good performances,” Higgins said. “I know we’ve had some regional qualifiers. It’s exciting, we have some great athletes.”
This is the first time the 3,000-meter steeplechase was run during the MWC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the women’s side. Higgins becomes the first 3,000-meter steeplechase outdoor champion in Wyoming and MWC history
Wyoming Sports.org
Wyoming junior Emily Higgins ran nearly 12 miles in about a 40-minute span for one of the most eventful days of her career.
Higgins won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title on the third day of the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.
Higgins won the event with a time of 11 minutes, 5.88 seconds, which qualified her for the Regional Championships in Norman, Okla., on May 29-30.
After embracing her victory, she then competed in the 1,500-meter preliminary race almost 20 minutes later to take fifth in her heat with a time of 5:08.13. She missed qualifying for the finals in the 1,500 by two seconds.
Coming into the MWC meet, Higgins was ranked second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and fourth in the 1,500-meter run. Although her place in the 1,500-meter run was less than expected and her time did not meet her personal best, it was still a very good day.
“It’s really sweet. Especially to be able to do this at home,” Higgins said. “To have conference here I really feel like I’m peaking at the right time and that’s thanks to Coach (Randy) Cole and the training.”
To be able to run both events in a short time span was difficult for Higgins, but she was ready for the challenge.
“It was interesting,” Higgins said. “It definitely was a challenge, but I feel like that Coach (Cole) has trained us really well. To be able to train at this altitude has really helped us out.”
Cole said that Higgins persuaded him to give her a shot at the steeplechase.
“I knew she was very good at the 3,000-meter run, but I didn’t know she was this good at it,” Cole said. “She is a very athletic girl who really showed her fitness level by turning around and almost qualifying in the 1,500. I really didn’t want to push her that much and have her run it but she told me she would give it a shot.”
With the victory, the Cowgirls hope to carry momentum into the final day of the championships.
"We’ve had some really good performances,” Higgins said. “I know we’ve had some regional qualifiers. It’s exciting, we have some great athletes.”
This is the first time the 3,000-meter steeplechase was run during the MWC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the women’s side. Higgins becomes the first 3,000-meter steeplechase outdoor champion in Wyoming and MWC history
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