UAA's Caroline Kurgat flirted with an NCAA record Friday, posting the second-fastest 10,000-meter run in Division II history while cruising to victory at the Stanford Invitational.
Her mark of 32 minutes, 33.24 seconds trails only the time of 32:28.57 set by Sylvia Mosqueda of Cal State Los Angeles during the 1988 DI Outdoor Championships. Mosqueda's mark was set when DI and DII athletes competed at the same national meet.
Kurgat's time would have measured up as the 4th-fastest D-I run in 2017.
The junior from Eldoret, Kenya, is coming off an NCAA D-II cross country championship for the Seawolves last fall.
Kurgat's 10,000-meter run also broke the UAA and GNAC record of 33:14.41, which was set Joyce Chelimo in the 2016 outdoor season. Kurgat's blistering time bumped Chelimo from fifth- to sixth-fastest in D-II history.