GULF SHORES, Ala. -- For the first time in program history, a John Brown University female cross country runner competed at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, as freshman Annie Brown completed the marathon to take home 38th place overall.
The watershed moment began at 6 a.m. Saturday as 45 female student-athletes were poised to run the 26-mile, 385-yard race. Brown earned a berth to the event by completing a 1:31:16 half marathon time at the RussVegas Half Marathon in Russellville on April 11.
"I'm extremely proud of Annie today," said head coach Scott Schochler. "She completed the marathon in absolutely brutal conditions and competed well. She has put in a tremendous amount of work and showed fierce determination to finish.
"Annie embodied some key ideals for our program during this race. She is not afraid to compete against anyone. More importantly, she finished the challenge set before her. Because of these traits, Annie will be back next year once again representing JBU with class."
After a strong start to the race where Brown sat at about 20th through approximately three miles, Brown continued the push to finish in the top half of the field. Battling knee discomfort, she finally ran into some trouble after the midway point as the humidity began to build. Brown finished the race in 4:01:04.
"Getting to line up at the line with the top 45 distance runners in the nation was a great experience and definitely inspiring," Brown said. "I was pretty nervous beforehand, but I leaned on my training and my preparation while I got ready. Thankfully, the course was pretty flat, but the most difficult part of the course was the second half where we were in direct sun the entire time.
"I'm so thankful for Coach Schochler. I don't believe I could have finished the race without him. He gave me a pep talk when I was really hurting. He encouraged me to push through and finish the race with whatever I had left in me. It was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'm happy I was able to finish the race and represent John Brown University."
Brown pieced together the most prolific cross country season in 2014. In the program's five-year existence since its reboot, Brown set two separate five-kilometer program records this past fall.
Initially, she set the fastest mark with a 19:32.7 at the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 4. She then broke her own mark by more than six seconds by clocking in at 19:26.3 at the Arkansas-Little Rock Invitational on Oct. 18. She also occupies the third slot in the record book by placing 23rd at the Sooner Athletic Conference championships on Nov. 8, finishing the conference meet in a 19:35.95 span.
Sports on 05/27/2015