Oklahoma City University freshman Katrina Nolan finished third in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships to become one of the first OCU runners to qualify for the NAIA Championships along with fellow freshman Arya Bahreini.
“I feel like I have a great opportunity to really make an impression as to what cross country running is to the school,” Nolan said. “I have the opportunity to set the bar for other runners in the future.”
Nolan’s third-place finish in the SAC Championships was the highest finish ever by an OCU runner, landing her on the all-SAC team, and is this week’s Super Star of the week.
“In that race I wanted to run a smarter race,” Nolan said. “I wanted to take out the first mile and go a little slower and save the energy for the middle and the end of the race, and it worked out really well for me.”
Nolan posted two other top-5 finishes this season including a second-place finish In the Central Oklahoma Land Run and a third-place performance in the Bison Invitational.
“I learned to take out the first mile easy,” Nolan said. “I need to have a good pace to position myself well for the rest of the race.”
Nolan looks forward to the challenge of running in the NAIA Championships a freshman.
“I have heard there are close to 300 runners,” Nolan said. “I have never run in a field that big before so it will be a whole new experience for me. It will be great to have that experience under my belt.”
Nolan, a native of Ontario, Canada, chose OCU because it provided the right balance between athletics and academics.
“If you play a sport you have to look at the coaching as well as the education,” Nolan said. “Coach Holt is a really great coach. He coaches you individually and has a plan just for you. It is a really small school and I like the student to professor ratio and you can get a lot of one-on-one time with teachers.”
More on Katrina:
Reason I picked OCU: Class size, running program and weather
Best athlete I’ve competed against: Rebecca Ray
Sporting event I would like to see someday: Olympics
Favorite campus hangout: With the XC team
Three people I would invite to dinner: Raechel, Rileigh and Kaitlin
