EUGENE, Ore. – Gillette, Wyo., native and Cowgirl senior
Audra DeStefano donned the Brown and Gold uniform for the final time on Thursday night, taking 21st place in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 10 minutes, 20.50 seconds. With her finish, DeStefano will receive USTFCCCA Honorable Mention All-America honors, becoming the first Cowgirl to receive an All-American award in track & field since Afiya Walker in 2011.
"For Audra to come out here and get to represent the University of Wyoming at the NCAA Championships and end her career as an Honorable Mention All-American, that's a huge accomplishment and I'm really proud of her," head coach
Bryan Berryhill said on Thursday. "It's a big time atmosphere. There are a lot of people watching. I thought she was composed and went out there and ran a good race."
DeStefano raced to a 10th-place finish in her semifinal heat as she became the first Cowgirl to compete in an outdoor track event at the national championship level since Shauna Smith, who won an individual NCAA title in the 400-meter hurdles in 2005. DeStefano beat two regional opponents in the process in Colorado's Sage Hurta and Weber State's Ellie Child.
The top five athletes in each of the two semifinal heats, plus the next two best times, advanced to the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase final to take place Saturday in Eugene. Northern Illinois' Hope Schmelzle clocked the fastest time in the semifinal round at 9:50.51.
DeStefano leaves a big legacy at Wyoming. "She's a great student as well as a great athlete," Berryhill said. "She's going to leave as a conference champion, a school record holder and an Honorable Mention All-American. She has faced a lot of adversity along the way and has worked hard to get through that. She's going to leave one of the best distance runners in the history of the school."
DeStefano was recently named to the Academic All-District® Team for District VII by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America and is still in consideration for the Academic All-America® team, which will be released later in June.
Scott Carter is the next athlete to compete for Wyoming at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Watch the action live or follow along at the links above as the Cowboy senior goes for All-American honors in the triple jump on Friday at 6:40 p.m. MT. Stay tuned to
@wyo_track on Twitter for additional updates.
