DeKalb — Hope Schmelzle, senior track and field distance runner, knows she’s one of the best runners in the nation.
The senior became NIU’s first Women’s Track and Field All-American when she ran a race time of 9:55.49 to place sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 10 in Eugene, Oregon. It’s the second fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time in school history.
Schmelzle has a calm confidence that radiates when watching her run or listening to her talk about her sport, and it can make a person believe she is one of the best without having to look at the numbers or statistics that prove she is.