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Senior Jenny Barringer concluded her ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ track and field career in style in June, winning her third NCAA outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase title, this one in Fayetteville, Ark. Barringer posted a time of 9:25.54, a college record, in winning by more than 15 seconds.

“This was an exciting win,” she says. “I’m happy to have it behind me. It’s tough to come in and be a heavy favorite. I just had to keep my mind right and go out there and take care of business. It felt great.”

Barringer, a 2008 Olympian, didn’t lose a single college race during the indoor and outdoor season and became the first ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ track athlete to capture three titles in the same event. Overall, Barringer owns four NCAA track championships, including an indoor 3,000-meter title in March, making her the first ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ female in any sport to win four NCAA titles.

Meanwhile, junior Brandin Williams became the first ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ male in 47 years to claim a conference title in the javelin, winning the event at the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas. Williams and Barringer were the only Buffs to capture titles at the Big 12 meet, and Barringer also won the NCAA regional title in the steeplechase.

In late June, ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ assistant coach Casey Malone (discus), Barringer (3,000 steeplechase for the second time) and former Buff runner Kara Grgas-Wheeler Goucher (Psych’01) (women’s 5,000m for the second straight year) won their events at the USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. It was Malone’s first USATF title.

Barringer’s 2009 season included being named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Female Track Athlete of the Year (indoor and outdoor), winning the Honda Sports Award for being the top college female track and field athlete in the nation and being one of five finalists for the Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the country’s top female college athlete.

She plans to compete for ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ in cross country in the fall before graduating in December.