Fernandez Breaks School Record a Third Time; Falls Just Short of NCAA Final

Thursday, June 11

Eugene, Ore.

7:14 p.m.

Temple University

NCAA Championships

Photo by: Rick Morgan

Fernandez Breaks School Record a Third Time; Falls Just Short of NCAA Final

6.11.15 | Women's Track and Field

EUGENE, Ore. - She set the school record for a third time while competing today on the national stage, but Temple junior Blanca Fernandez fell just short of qualifying for the 1,500m final at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Fernandez placed 15th overall in a time of 4:19.62, besting her school record by just over two-tenths of a second.

Fernandez raced in the second of two semifinal heats at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field on Thursday afternoon, and for much of the race was among the leaders. The top five finishers would advance from each heat, along with the next two overall fastest times. The top four broke away in Fernandez's heat, and in a scramble to finish fifth she came up just over half a second short and crossed the line in seventh place.

After running a school record time of 4:21.61 back in April, Fernandez broke her own record for the first time at the NCAA East Preliminary with a time of 4:19.86.

Today's race concluded an incredible year for Fernandez, who joined the program at Temple in January. She set two indoor and three outdoor school records, was named the American Athletic Conference's Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet, and took the title in the 1,500m at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.