Hopkins track and field was well represented this past Saturday at the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio as senior Christina Valerio nabbed second place in the 5000-meter breaking both school and Centennial Conference records on the way.
Heading into the race, Valerio was coming off a two-week race hiatus having last ran in the Conference Championships on Feb. 26th.
Valerio was the key contributor in the Jays’s first-ever indoor conference title, collecting 20 points for her team with wins in the 3000- and 5000-meter duals in that race. It was her 17.24.84 time in the 5000 that qualified her for the NCAA tournament.
She was the only Jay and just one of four women in the Centennial Conference to qualify for the event. With a time of 16:59.65, Valerio became the first Hopkins and Centennial Conference runner to ever run an under 17-minute time. She crushed the previous school and conference records, formerly held by 2010 Hopkins graduate Laura Paulsen, by an astounding 13 seconds.
The Jay was almost eight seconds behind gold medalist Wendy Pavlus, a senior from St. Lawrence, and three seconds ahead of Simone Childs-Walker, a senior from Carleton College.
Valerio’s run in Columbus shattered her previous personal record, a 17:17.59 time at the Boston University Invitational on Feb. 11th, by a whopping 18 seconds.
The race marked the end of the indoor track season for Hopkins, as Valerio and the Jays look forward to running outside in the spring.
Expect great things from Christina Valerio once she breaks outdoors. This is her senior season, so expect her to run like never before. If you get the chance, make sure to cheer her on.
The Jays get back to action outside on March 26th in Raleigh, N.C. for the Raleigh Relays.
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