St. Thomas Aquinas Grad Rachel Schneider Also Going for Olympic Gold
There are two Seacoast connections to the U.S. Olympic track and field team, UNH graduate Elle Purrier St. Pierre and Rachel Schneider, Sanford, Maine, native who earned her way onto the team at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Oregon on Monday.
"We're going to the Olympics!" an excited Schneider said on her Twitter account.
Schneider, 29, finished third in the women's 5000M race Monday night with a time of 15:29.56 in 94-degree heat which she said didn't impact her race.
"Everyone is racing in the same conditions. During the warmup, I wore an ice vest. Outside of it, don’t worry about it," Schneider told Runner's World.
The 2009 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover, NH, got congratulations from her high alma mater where she was New England state champion in 800m and 1,600m, ranked 19th in the U.S. in the mile and won the 400m and 1,600m at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions.
"We can't wait to tune in again on Saturday to watch her run the 10,000m! SAINTS PRIDE!" school officials wrote in the post.
At Georgetown, Schneider earned multiple All-America honors. She now calls Flagstaff, Ariz., home.
Purrier St. Pierre, a 2018 UNH graduate, finished at 3:58:03 in the 1,500m and broke the meet record while setting a new personal best to win the national title on Monday.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH