BOISE, Idaho — The New Hampshire native has done it again. Boise State's Kristie Schoffield is now a national champion after capturing first place in the women's 800-meter race at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.
Schoffield ran a blazing time of 2:01.09 Saturday in Eugene, Ore., giving the Broncos their first 800-meter title.
The senior also ran a personal-best time, set a new Boise State record and captured the Mountain West Conference record in the women's outdoor 800-meter race.
“It (winning) was a speechless moment,” Schoffield said. “It is the culmination of the hard work I have put in and the countless hours people around me have worked.”
Schoffield finished ahead of Villanova's McKenna Keegan (2:01.71), Oklahoma State's Gabija Galvydyte (2:01.76) and Florida's Imogen Barrett (2:02.05).
“She did everything we had planned,” Boise State assistant coach, Gavin O’Neal said. “I wanted her to get through the 400 (meters) in 58 or 59 seconds and the 600 (meters) in a minute 29 (seconds). Her closing speed is ridiculous and you saw that today. As she was gearing up other runners were starting to slow down. She executed perfectly.”
Following her historic run, Schoffield earned a well-deserved interview with ESPN's John Anderson, telling him "I wanted to win so bad."
The Boise State senior and national champion also shared a moment with her mom following the record-setting run at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field:
During the NCAA West Preliminary Round last month, Schoffield set previous personal-best and program-record times with a 2:01.41 run. Boise State's previous women's outdoor 800-meter record belonged to Sadi Henderson, who clocked a 2:02.38 time in 2018.
In the NCAA women's 800-meter semifinals Thursday, Schoffield punched her ticket to Saturday's title with a 2:01.79 time.
Schoffield topped Keegan (2:01.82), Barrett (2:02.24) and Kennesaw State's Sarah Hendrick (2:02.34) to win the qualifier.
Watch more Sports:
See all of our sports coverage in our YouTube playlist: