By Paul Suellentrop
 
The hurdles almost ruined it for Austin Carrera.
 

"My first couple of steeple races, I didn't enjoy it," he said. "I don't like the whole hurdling aspect. I don't like doing hurdle drills and all the extra stuff that comes with it."
 
A bit of success changed that attitude for Carrera, a sophomore from Hastings, Neb. He won the steeplechase at the Arkansas Spring Invitational and the Rock Chalk Classic. His time of 8 minutes, 54.42 seconds in Lawrence ranks No. 9 in Wichita State history.
 
"It definitely started growing on me," he said.
 
On Thursday, Carrera runs in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He qualified by placing second in the USA Track and Field U20 Championships with a time of 8:58.71 in June in Eugene.
 
Shocker distance coach Kirk Hunter watched Carrera steadily improve during his freshman seasons. He placed 30^th at the American Conference Cross Country Championships with a time of 24:41.4 in the 8-kilometer to earn a spot on the All-Freshman team. He ran a time of 8:09.97 in the 3,000 indoors. He anchored the distance medley relay team placed third in the American Championships.
 
Tom Fish, a former assistant coach at WSU who lives in Hastings, recommended Carrera to Shocker coaches and they kept an eye on him while he ran in Nebraska. Carrera signed with WSU after a good junior year and turned in an even better senior performance. He is the Class B Nebraska record-holder in the 3,200.
 
That rise continued as a freshman with the Shockers. Coaches saw a mixture of power and speed that plays well for the demands of distance running, hurdling and water jumps.
 
"When it came to indoor track, he really lit it up," Hunter said. "He was good in the mile. His 3,000-meter race was exceptional. He ran 8:09 as a true freshman, an 18-year-old kid. We were really high on this guy."
 
The 8:09 stuck in Hunter's mind, so he encouraged him to try the steeplechase when outdoor season started. Carrera, despite his misgivings about the hurdles, saw an opportunity to score points in the steeplechase.
 
He tried the event for the first time at the ESU Spring Open to serve as a workout.
 
"A couple weeks later, and I said, 'Let's run a real one,'" Hunter said. "I said 'Hey, dude, this is your event.' He said, 'Coach, this is too hard.'"
 
Carrera went to work on his hurdling technique, fueled by the early success. The steeplechase, he now knows, is his event. He placed fourth in the American Championships with a time of 9:15.70 to help the Shockers win the team title.
 
"It is kind of crazy," he said. "I would not have seen on me getting this far."

Carrera's success attracted the attention of one of Wichita State's greatest track athletes. Randy Smith finished second in the NCAA steeplechase in 1975. His time of 8:28 remains the school record. Smith, who lives in Kansas City, keeps up on Shocker track and especially the steeplechase.

"He's followed his year and how well he's done as a true freshman," Hunter said. "Randy Smith has been so excited about it. I love that Randy's involved enough to pay attention."

Wichita State's success in the race doesn't end with Smith, who attended Wichita East High School. Steve Shaad (1976), Bob Christensen (1977), Gary Gregory (1983), Mickael Colin (2002, 03), Tomas Cotter (2012, 2013), Ugis Jocis (2015), Ethan Cossover (2021) and Clayton Duchatschek (2022) won conference titles. Cotter joins Smith as an All-American after finishing ninth in 2013.

A few months after resisting the event, Carrera is started on a path that may add him to that list.

Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
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