SACRAMENTO, Calif – Cathy Parker (Westford, Mass.) of the University of New Hampshire women’s outdoor track and field program smashed 
her previous 3000-meter steeplechase school record by over seven seconds and cruised to an eighth place finish at NCAA Division I National Championships in Sacramento, California on Wednesday.
Parker notched her finest performance of the season on track’s grandest stage with a blistering record-breaking time of 10:06.45. The junior harrier was one of 14 runners to qualify for finals on Friday (June 8). Parker was the lone New England representative to qualify for the final heat and was one of five juniors to earn a chance to leave California as an All-American. The top-12 runners out of the 14 finalists receive All-American status.
Parker’s prior success was at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Florida on May 26. She cruised to a seventh place finish in a time of 10:15.18. She is also the current America East champion and record holder in the steeplechase. Parker enjoyed similar success on the cross country course this past fall as champion of the America East. She placed 111th finish at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships back in November.
Here is a look at the final heat for Friday’s race:
Section 1 Final
1 Anna Willard SR Michigan 10:04.03
2 Bridget Franek FR Penn St. 10:08.24
3 Emily Brown SR Minnesota 10:07.44
4 Liz Wort SR Duke 10:01.04
5 Jennifer Barringer SO Colorado 10:02.17
6 Lindsay Allen JR Stanford 10:01.53
7 Sariah Long JR Weber St. 10:05.42
8 Nichole Bush JR Michigan St. 9:58.20
9 Barbara Parker SR Fla State 9:57.71
10 Lindsey Anderson SR Weber St. 9:56.14
11 A. Havahla Haynes SR Wisconsin 10:07.75
12 Amy Fowler SO BYU 10:01.19
13 Catherine Parker JR UNH 10:06.45
14 Kassi Andersen JR BYU 10:04.75
her previous 3000-meter steeplechase school record by over seven seconds and cruised to an eighth place finish at NCAA Division I National Championships in Sacramento, California on Wednesday.Parker notched her finest performance of the season on track’s grandest stage with a blistering record-breaking time of 10:06.45. The junior harrier was one of 14 runners to qualify for finals on Friday (June 8). Parker was the lone New England representative to qualify for the final heat and was one of five juniors to earn a chance to leave California as an All-American. The top-12 runners out of the 14 finalists receive All-American status.
Parker’s prior success was at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Florida on May 26. She cruised to a seventh place finish in a time of 10:15.18. She is also the current America East champion and record holder in the steeplechase. Parker enjoyed similar success on the cross country course this past fall as champion of the America East. She placed 111th finish at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships back in November.
Here is a look at the final heat for Friday’s race:
Section 1 Final
1 Anna Willard SR Michigan 10:04.03
2 Bridget Franek FR Penn St. 10:08.24
3 Emily Brown SR Minnesota 10:07.44
4 Liz Wort SR Duke 10:01.04
5 Jennifer Barringer SO Colorado 10:02.17
6 Lindsay Allen JR Stanford 10:01.53
7 Sariah Long JR Weber St. 10:05.42
8 Nichole Bush JR Michigan St. 9:58.20
9 Barbara Parker SR Fla State 9:57.71
10 Lindsey Anderson SR Weber St. 9:56.14
11 A. Havahla Haynes SR Wisconsin 10:07.75
12 Amy Fowler SO BYU 10:01.19
13 Catherine Parker JR UNH 10:06.45
14 Kassi Andersen JR BYU 10:04.75
