Spartan Superwoman Leah O'Connor Does Something NEVER Done Before in NCAA History
O'Connor runs fastest time in NCAA Track & Field Championship history. Ehrhardt, Schulist and Franklin receive All-American honors.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Leah O'Connor delivered another record-setting race and won her second career individual national title on Saturday as the Michigan State track and field squad wrapped up its 2015 indoor season at the NCAA Championship meet.
O'Connor was able to pull away from a loaded field of runners during the final 300 meters of the women's mile race as she clocked in with a time of 4:27.18, the fastest time in NCAA Track & Field Championships history and the second-fastest overall time in NCAA history. O'Connor also broke her previous MSU school record from the Big Ten Indoor Championships (4:32.29) by more than five seconds. She was recognized as a first-team All-American for the second consecutive year after finishing seventh with a time of 4:40.86 in 2014. The championship was the second individual title of O'Connor's career as she also won the women's 3,000m steeplechase at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Sophomore Tim Ehrhardt entered Saturday in ninth place in the men's heptathlon and scored 2,594 points in three events on the day, including a first-place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 5.15m and a personal-best time of 2:40.99 in the 1,000m run. Ehrhardt finished the weekend with 5,669 points in the heptathlon event, good for seventh overall and first-team All-American honors in his first career appearance at the national championships.
In the women's 3,000m race, sophomore Rachele Schulist placed ninth with a time of 9:09.78. Schulist was named a second-team All-American for the second-straight year, improving on her 15th-place time of 9:42.71 from last season as a freshman.
Senior Tori Franklin, making her third appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earned her third indoor All-American award with a 12th-place mark of 12.65m in the women's triple jump. Franklin also took home indoor All-American honors in the triple jump as a freshman and junior, finishing second in 2012 and fourth in 2014.
Michigan State will open its outdoor track and field season in two weeks at the North Carolina State Raleigh Relays on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28.
