Mahala Norris Claims NCAA Steeplechase Title

EUGENE, Ore. – With a furious sprint to the finish line, recent Air Force graduate Mahala Norris captured the national title in the 3000-meter steeplechase this afternoon (June 12), during the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Recording the sixth-fastest time in NCAA history, Norris became the first Academy female to claim a Division I national title in a running event.

Crossing the finish line in a time of 9:31.79 to take nearly six seconds off her previous best time from the semifinal round, Norris broke her own Academy Record for the fourth time in five collegiate meets, while accounting for the second-fastest time in Mountain West history and the sixth-fastest time in collegiate history.

Norris immediately positioned herself among the frontrunners, holding onto the No. 3 position by the first water jump. Running the majority of the race at the outside edge of Lane 1 – or on the inside edge of Lane 2 – the recently-commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Space Force, held that placement during the majority of the race and posted the fastest splits of anyone on the final two laps. In a close third coming off the famed Bowerman Curve, Norris was slowed slightly by the final barrier, but roared back in the final 40 meters, picking off Washington's Katie Rainsberger and edging Auburn's Joyce Kimeli at the line by 0.05 seconds – the closest finish in NCAA meet history – to claim the national title.

Norris, who grew up in nearby Roseburg, Ore., became the first Air Force runner to win a title at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships since Jim Murphy won the 5000-meter title in 1964. It's the fourth DI title overall for the Falcons, as current assistant coach Dana (Pounds) Lyon won the javelin title in 2005-06.

With Norris' championship (10 points) and classmate Maria Mettler's third-place finish in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday (6 points), Air Force finished tied for 16th in the overall women's standings – a field that included 134 teams with at least one athlete in Eugene.

POST-RACE QUOTES FROM MAHALA NORRIS
"I thought I executed (my race) very well. The plan was to hang with the top three and focus on Joyce (Kimeli) and Courtney (Wayment). If I was still with them in the last two laps – or three minutes, is what Coach said – I just had to focus on the kick, which I always have. There were little surges from people and in the last two laps, so I was just focusing on anyone who made a move. I would follow and I knew if I focused on that, they'd get me through the last two laps. Coming around that last one … I didn't think I was going to be there, but when I was, I thought 'I definitely have a shot', so I just tried to focus on the finish. I knew it was close coming in, and when I finished, I looked up at the leaderboard to see just how close it was. I could see Joyce out of the corner of my eye, so I guess I didn't really know until the end."

AIR FORCE DISTANCE COACH RYAN COLE
"Mahala's spring has been so good that the only way she could really top it is by winning a national title. To do so with one of the fastest times in collegiate history in her fifth steeple ever is ridiculous. She's just so tough. And, while she may not be very big, she has a huge heart. I don't know how anyone could watch that race and not be inspired. We've had some women over the last few years show that you can compete at the highest level as a distance runner at the Air Force Academy. Now, Mahala has shown you can be a national champion."

Players Mentioned

Maria Mettler

Mahala Norris

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