AUSTIN, Texas – On Saturday night, Wofford College track and field student-athlete Hannah Steelman competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter finals in the 2019 NCAA Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas. She finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and was eighth in the 5,000 meters to earn first team All-America honors in both events.
 
A sophomore from Orono, Maine, Steelman ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a school-record time of 9:46.08. She stayed with the lead pack for most of the race. After clearing the final barrier, she passed two competitors to take third place. Allie Ostrander of Boise State won the event for the third straight season, finishing in 9:37.73. Charlotte Prouse of New Mexico was second in 9:44.50. Following Steelman was Ava Cohen of New Mexico (9:46.36) and Erica Birk of BYU (9:46.47) to round out the top five. Gabrielle Jennings of Furman was ninth. The top five finishers had times better than the previous facility record.
 
Less than two hours later she competed in the 5,000 meters. Steelman was eighth overall in 16:14.58 to earn a spot on the podium and take first team All-America honors for the second time on the day. The race was won by Dani Jones from Colorado with a time of 15:50.65, followed by Taylor Werner from Arkansas and Esther Gitahi from Alabama.
 
"In the 3,000-meter steeplechase she ran a great race," said head coach Johnny Bomar. "She ran hard and put in a lot of work to come up with a great result. It took guts for her to run the 5,000 meters in such a short time after the steeplechase, especially with the heat. For her to push through and score shows why she is one of the toughest athletes I have ever worked with. She belongs among the top tier of distance runners in the nation."
 
As a team, the Wofford women were 36th overall with seven points, tied with Missouri. Arkansas won the title with 64 points, followed by Southern California with 57 points.  
 
Steelman is the first Wofford College track and field student-athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championship and the first two do so in back-to-back seasons. Last season she was second team All-America in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and honorable mention in the 5,000 meters. She also added first team All-America honors at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships when she was 8^th in the 3,000 meters.  
 
Steelman was one of only seven student-athletes from the Southern Conference to qualify for the NCAA Championship, and the only one to qualify in two events. She was the only one to earn first team All-America honors in Austin. She is the only student-athlete from the league to compete in the NCAA National Championships this season in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.