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Fankhouser finishes second in nation

FLC junior earns First Team All-American honors in 1,500
FLC junior earns First Team All-American honors in 1,500
Katie Fankhouser of Fort Lewis stands on the podium after finishing second in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field national championships on Saturday in Pueblo. (Angela Roberts/FLC Athletics)

Katie Fankhouser of Fort Lewis College wrapped up her historic junior campaign as the national runner-up in the women's 1,500 meters at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, earning First Team All-American honors at her first track championship.

“I am feeling so blessed. I didn't think that I was going to make it through the year after battling injuries since February,” said an emotional Fankhouser. “I'm so excited to come back next year for cross country and hopefully close it out with a national title next spring.”

Fankhouser claimed her second First-Team All-American honor of the 2022-23 academic year after earning nods in cross-country last December in Seattle.

“Katie ran a beautiful prelim on Thursday, so I knew she was going to do something special today,” said head coach Shawn Jakubowski. “We spoke strategy and had a plan going in. She was confident and prepared for however the race would unfold. She ran her heart out today, and I couldn't be more proud.”

In Saturday's 1,500 final, the athletes were battling in windy conditions for the 5:35 p.m. start. Fankhouser entered nationals seeded ninth overall but toed the starting line with confidence to battle for a top spot. The game plan held strong through the opening turn as the junior sat in second place, narrowly behind Minnesota Duluth's Cailee Peterson – the top performer in heat two on Friday.

She dropped one place at the 700-meter mark with a split of 1:23.24, but the margin was narrow as the race's leaders were bunched up in the early goings. Fankhouser reclaimed the second-place spot heading into the final lap, trailing Westminster's Courtney McAlindon as the final 400 meters approached.

The pace picked up among those sitting in podium contention, and Fankhouser was right in the middle of the action as the group made the turn into the home stretch. Lee's Celine Ritter turned in an incredible kick to pull ahead, but Fankhouser was hot on her heels to maintain a second-place finish. She clocked a time of 1:03.78 in the final 400 meters to outlast Leah Taylor of Western Colorado who crossed the line in third.

“I knew that when we got out at 2:40 in the first 800 that the second half was going to be the real race,” Fankhouser said. “I was just sitting and waiting for somebody to make a move. When they did, I tried to take off with them and give it everything I had.”

“Katie couldn't be more of a pleasure to coach. After walking to the staging area before the prelims, she looked at me and said 'Coach, I got this … relax,” and I knew we were in for a great weekend,” said assistant coach Will Schenk. “The prelims went as planned, and in the finals she ran her heart out. I am incredibly proud to be her coach.”

Fankhouser will look ahead to her upcoming wedding before using the summer to recover and prepare for cross country and the program's first-ever indoor track season.

“Katie had an incredible year and will go into next season as one of the top returning runners in NCAA DII,” Jakubowski said. “She was an All-American in cross country, the conference champion in the 1,500 meters, and took home national runner-up honors. Watch out for Katie next year because she is just getting started.”