Fernandez earns spot in NCAA meet

After leading the conference in both the mile and 3,000-meter runs at this past weekend’s American Athletic Conference Championships, graduate-junior Blanca Fernandez was officially awarded a bid to the 2015 NCAA Indoor National Championships Wednesday.

Fernandez, who began running for Temple earlier this semester, earned the 15th spot out of 16 runners for the mile. She will be seeded at a time of 4 minutes, 40.60 seconds, which she registered at the Alex Wilson Invite on Feb. 21.

Fernandez will be the first athlete in 28 years to represent the women’s track & field team at the national meet, the last being high jumper Felicia Hodges in 1987.

“I’m thrilled that she is going to have the opportunity to race against the best girls here in the NCAA,” Cross Country coach James Snyder said. “Any time you’re a competitor like she is, you have high goals and you want to get a chance to measure up against the best to see really how good you are.”

Fernandez, Snyder, and head coach Elvis Forde will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the meet, which will take place March 13-14.

-Tyler DeVice