Two months ago, Kayla Ferron was a longshot to make it to the preliminary round of the NCAA track and field championships.
But through training, true grit and determination, the UA steeplechase runner made it.
She’s now one of 34 Arizona Wildcats runners, jumpers and throwers in Sacramento, Calif., trying to advance to the NCAA championship meet. The top 12 finishers in each event Thursday, Friday and Saturday will punch their tickets to the national finals in Eugene, Oregon.
Coming into the meet, five UA men have performances that rank among the top dozen in the West: Jordan Geist in both the shot put and discus; Bryant O’Georgia, high jump; Carlos Villarreal, 1,500 meters; Collins Kibet, 800 meters, and Grayson Fleming, hammer throw. Others, of course, such as sprinter Maj Williams, will try to break into the top 12.
On the women’s side, four rank among the top dozen: Tatum Waggoner, 400 meters; Alyssa Thompson, long jump; Claire Green, 5,000 meters, and the 1,600-meter relay team. Thompson has already qualified for the NCAA finals in the heptathlon.
While those athletes have grabbed most of the headlines this season, Ferron has run under the radar, making steady progress in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
But what exactly is the steeplechase?
It’s 7½ laps around the track, or slightly less than two miles. On each lap, runners negotiate four wood barriers and step on and over a fifth barrier into a pit of water.
As of March 24, Ferron’s best time was 10:54.30. A month later, she improved that by 14 seconds.
At the Pac-12 championships, two days after receiving her UA diploma, Ferron improved by another 10-plus seconds, clocking 10:29.69.
Those twin improvements, totaling nearly 25 seconds, propelled her into the NCAA first-round meet. “When I saw my time at Pac-12, I was super excited,” Ferron said
The top 48 runners in the West make it to the NCAA first round. She was elated when she had learned officially that she had “made it” by recording the 46th best time.
Ferron started running in high school at Redondo Beach, California, where her mom, Julie, was a track coach.
Kayla completed strong but non-spectacular cross country and track seasons before heading to the UA. After sustaining a stress fracture freshman year and redshirting, she’s put in hundreds of hours of training during four years of both cross country and track.
Ferron says strong friendships with her fellow distance runners, including Addi Zerrenner and Green, have kept her motivated.
She recalls getting up at 4 a.m. one semester to train, go to class and do practice teaching as part of her major in elementary education. She’s landed a job as a fourth-grade teacher in the Tucson Unified School District.
For Ferron to advance to nationals would represent “a challenge for sure,” said Tim Riley, a UA assistant coach. But Ferron still has room for improvement, especially by being more efficient going over the barriers, he said.
Ferron, who runs Friday, says, “No one sees me going to nationals, but as long as I keep myself in the race, I think I have a decent chance.”
