Bridgmon breaks her own school record

Eastern Washington University's Mattie Bridgmon broke her week-old 5,000-meter time last Friday at the Oregon Relays track and field meet in Eugene, Ore., with a time of 16:33.60. Her previous record of 16:47.65 broke Kari McKay's record time of 16:57.71 that was set in 1992.

"It's exciting for sure," Bridgmon said. "But I honestly didn't even know that I broke the school record until a couple of days after the race."

The junior also placed 64th at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships last November. With all her success, she still is surprised with her results.

"I definitely feel like I've exceeded my own expectations," she said. "I'm so happy with everything that's happened this season and how well it's gone."

Bridgmon has already qualified for the BSC Championships in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:40.88, which finished first in the event at the 37th Annual Pelluer Invitational (April 11).

The irony in her success is that Bridgmon began her running career at Eastern as a walk-on. She said that through hard work and dedication, she was able to make the team and be successful.

"If you come in and work hard and do everything you're supposed to do, then anyone can do it, I think," she added.

Despite her success, she still wants to improve, especially with the Big Sky Outdoor Championship coming up.

"I'm trying to place better than I did last year," she said. "It'd be cool to win another championship, but I'm just going to try to get as many points for the team as I can."

Bridgmon said that when her career is done at Eastern, she plans to continue running and hopefully run professionally or possibly run professionally.

This summer she plans to help coach a high school team in Hawaii.