Ferrell aims for NCAA championship in 3k

On Friday, March 10, the nation's top collegiate track and field athletes will converge on Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Among those vying for a national title is senior distance runner Cack Ferrell, who qualified for both the mile and 3,000 meter races. Ferrell is Princeton's lone representative, though several Tigers came within a few strides of the qualifying marks in the final meet of the season.

Last weekend, a small group of Tigers flew out to South Bend, Ind. to compete in the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational. The meet was the final opportunity for Princeton's athletes to qualify for the National Championships. On the men's side, senior Frank Macreery ran a blazingly fast 5000m time to take third in the event. His time of 14 minutes, 7.76 seconds was a new Princeton record, eclipsing Chris Banks '00s previous best time of 14:10.99. Unfortunately for Macreery, his record-setting time was just short of the qualifying mark.

The women were just as close to receiving a championship bid in the distance medley relay. In addition to Ferrell, Princeton's team was composed of freshman Agatha Offorjebe, junior Catha Mullen and senior Jordan Wagenseller. Like Macreery, they posted a new Princeton record with their time of 11:20.96, but they also fell short of the qualifying mark by a few seconds. The race was particularly bittersweet for the Tigers because they were the only team entered in the event.

"Our distance medley relay was very close to qualifying, within about four seconds in a race that is more than 11 minutes long, but unfortunately we flew to Notre Dame in hopes of having some great competition from Oklahoma, Colorado, Kentucky and some other teams—but none of them showed up," Ferrell said.

"We ended up having to race by ourselves so we didn't have the competition that we needed to drop those few extra seconds," she said.

These near misses have left Ferrell as the lone Princeton representative. The Minnesota native qualified in both the mile and the 3000m races at last weekend's Ivy League Heptagonals championship, but has opted to race only in the 3000m event.

"I chose only to compete in the 3k because the mile has trials and finals and I wanted to focus on running my best in just one event," Ferrell said.

Ferrell certainly has the support of her teammates, who are confident that Ferrell will shine on the national stage.

"[Ferrell] has had some great workouts recently, but even better races. She just keeps getting better," Mullen said. "So, although the 3000 looks to be particularly competitive this year at NCAAs, I wouldn't be surprised if Cack were to dominate."

Mullen was also quick to note that Ferrell is no stranger to the national spotlight. At last year's championship race, Ferrell finished third in the nation. This fall, she placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Just last week, Ferrell was named Athlete of the Meet at the Ivy League Indoor Championships after dominating both the mile and 3000m events.

"There are girls who have posted faster times this season but I am confident that I can run faster than I have to date, and I am anxious to see what I can do," Ferrell said. "With that said, I would love to better my third place finish from last year."