EUGENE, Ore. — University of New Mexico track & field athlete Courtney Frerichs has earned NCAA Division I Mountain Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year honors, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday.
Frerichs, a senior from Nixa, Missouri, by way of UMKC, owns the NCAA’s top time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase this year and picked up the second regional athlete of the year honor of her career.
Last month, Frerichs posted a personal-record time of 9 minutes, 29.31 seconds to win the 3,000 steeplechase at the Payton Jordan Invitational, moving up the NCAA record books.
She ranks as the third fastest collegian in NCAA history, and her time is the fifth-fastest in NCAA history. She now owns three of the top eight time all-time in the NCAA between her time at UMKC and New Mexico.
Frerichs followed that run by winning the steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary Round two weeks ago to claim her spot at this week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
She is advancing to her third NCAA Championships of her career.
As of June 6, Frerichs ranks No. 1 in the NCAA, No. 3 in the US and No. 21 in the world in the 3000 steeplechase in 2016
She also owns the New Mexico record (previous record was 10:09.14) and the Mountain West record (previous was 9:37.84), and has the steeplechase record in two different conferences (MW and WAC).
Overall, this is her second such honor after being named Midwest Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year while at UMKC. Frerichs’ honor is also the first of its kind for New Mexico. Two Lobos, Alice Wright in 2014 and Sammy Silva in 2013, claimed the corresponding honor in cross country.
Frerichs will compete at the NCAA Championships at 6:54 p.m. MT on Thursday in the semifinal round of the steeplechase, with the finals scheduled for 4:54 p.m. MT on Saturday.