Claire Endres has set her sight on the school record for years now, but on Thursday night in St. Louis, MO, she finally broke it. The Huskies distance runner won in the second heat of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the WashU Distance Carnival in late March, coming in with a time of 10:58.95. This effort beat the school record by more than five seconds, and a 15 second improvement on Endres’ personal best. This also puts her time just under the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard of 10:59.02, ranking her 12th in the country.
“It’s really rewarding to see my training pay off,” said Endres. This was her first steeplechase effort of the season, making the record even more exciting. “My goal is to keep chipping away at my PR and get as close to nationals as I can.” With a great start to the season, that goal to improve more is absolutely in the cards. Race results from the recent meet in St. Louis provisionally qualifies her for the national championship in Emporia, KS planned for late May. The distance runner did not start her college career with plans to become a steeplechase athlete. She said, “I wanted to try something new and ended up loving the challenge.” Endres adds that “It’s a really unique event, and I enjoy how technical it is.” This decision came full circle in her senior season, smashing the 2022 former school record of 11:03.72 by Sam Kurkowski. This is the first time in recent history the school record has been broken in March, with the following nine school best efforts being recorded in later months, with a majority coming from championship races at the end of the season. “Breaking the school record has been my goal for the past couple of years, so it was exciting to hit that mark in my first steeplechase race of the season.”
Head Coach Robert Young seemed pleased with the race performance of his athletes at the WashU meet, but noted Endres’s race as “particularly special”. Young mentioned having worked with Endres on the steeplechase event since the start of her time at Tech. Citing an improved technical ceiling and fitness improvements which allowed for a notable kick, closing a gap in the last lap to win her race. “I’m looking forward to chasing an even faster time in hopes of qualifying for the national meet.” said Coach Young in a press release. The Huskies outdoor track season continues in Platteville, WI at the UW-Platteville Invitational, Apr. 10 and 11.
