O’Connor set a school record time of 9:36.43 in the 3000 meter steeplechase race, making her the first MSU steeplechase champion ever.
“I was just extremely humbled and grateful,” she said. “I wanted to share this with everyone — my parents, my coach, everyone.”
Her first race occurred on Wednesday for the preliminary round, where the 24 best athletes in the steeplechase event competed against each other. The top five athletes in each heat, along with the top two other highest times, moved on to the final round on Friday, where O’Connor earned her win.
She said she took the lead early in the final race and, as the final laps approached, she utilized her speed and time to get over the hurdles and cross the finish line at the head of the pack.
O’Connor has been a participant in steeplechase races since her freshman year. She typically runs 60 to 65 miles a week.
In the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, O’Connor won a fifth place title.
She said her goal when she left this same meet last year was to come back and win it all.
“It’s an unexplainable feeling,” she said. “You spend so long looking at the top athletes of the nation, thinking it’s unattainable. ... I was so focused during the race, it takes awhile to soak it all in.”
