Redlands' Canales roars back to claim second in steeplechase at NCAA Championships

CLAREMONT - It was a finish that was all too fitting.

University of Redlands senior track and field standout Emily Canales capped off her career by turning on a late surge to finish second in the 3000-meter steeplechase final at the NCAA Championships meet on Saturday.

In front of a roaring crowd at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Burns Track Complex, the Bulldog star beat Rowan's Jena Peacock to the line, finishing with a program-record 10:36.62.

Canales rounded the final bend far behind top finisher Keri Lambert of Amherst College, and appeared to be locked in a battle for third, with field clinging to her heels and Peacock holding a healthy cushion. But Canales exploded down the final stretch, employing her signature last-minute kick to seemingly stun everyone but Redlands coach, Mike Schmidt.

Schmidt said the two had formulated a plan beforehand, and Canales executed it to perfection.

"Everything Emily does is smart," Schmidt said. "She eats smart, she trains smart, she recovers smart and you know what? Today she raced smart. That was exactly how we had it drawn up."

Canales, a Redlands East Valley graduate who'd never so much as made the CIF-Southern Section Prelims in her high school track and field career, said things changed when she got to the collegiate level.

She played catch-up in her two years at Vanguard and then poured everything she had into her pair of Redlands campaigns.

Canales knew that

capturing second with a late push in her final race was only appropriate. It was the culmination of four years of meticulous preparation.

"Just physically, I take care of myself obsessively," Canales said. "I've been sleeping a ton, I watch my diet, I've done everything I could to get to this point, and it all paid off."

Lambert, who cruised to a blistering 10:27.32, wasn't the only one who broke the track record of 10:37.60, as Canales and Peacock (10:37.20) also managed the feat.

To Canales, who was one of two Bulldogs to make the meet and the only one to appear in final, after Lambert and Peacock had darted ahead of the field early, it appeared that the two would fight for the top finish. But Lambert soon began to separate herself from Peacock, who seemed content to coast to second.

As the race wound down, Canales, who'd led the chase pack throughout, felt her legs start to wobble.

She was hoping to somehow just hold on to a trophy spot - and then, something inside stirred.

"I was so tired there at the end that I didn't know if I could hang on to my position," Canales said. "But I just said to myself, `This is it. This is nationals. It's now or never."'

Her goal heading into the day was just to capture a top-eight finish, which would secure her All-America honors. Clocking in with the fourth-fastest time of 1:49.91 and the fifth place overall at prelims, she was far ahead of that clip when she headed into her last 400 meters on Saturday.

But Canales still ran her last lap in 1:23.95, which was her fastest of the race.

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