Amelia Lehman broke the school record in the 3,000-meter run for the UW-Oshkosh women’s track and field team at the Warren Bowlus Open, Jan. 31, hosted by UW-Stout in the Johnson Fieldhouse.
Lehman finished the race in 9:28.14, shattering the previous school record of 10:39.45 set by recent Hall of Fame inductee Christy Cazzola in 2013 at the Iowa State Classic. Following her historic performance, Lehman was named the WIAC Kwik Trip Women’s Track Athlete of the Week.
Lehman said she realized last fall that she had a chance to break the program record after seeing progress in her training.
“I knew that the training I had been doing for these past two years would grant me the ability to break the record,” Lehman said. “I was being consistent and workouts were going really well. Our plan for the race was to go out at a faster pace than the record to make sure we had a chance.”
Despite the goal, Lehman said she didn’t know she was close to breaking the record.
“I wasn’t even paying attention to the time and what we were running because I knew if I did that, I would have panicked,” Lehman said. “My only goal for this race was to give a great effort, especially at the end pushing when I knew it was going to hurt the most. When I broke the record, I was pretty excited to create some sort of history.”
Breaking Cazzola’s record was meaningful for Lehman, who has established herself as one of the most accomplished runners in the UWO history, including two national championship appearances in 2022 and 2024.
“Passing Christy Cazzola’s record was an awesome accomplishment, especially considering she has 17 national titles,” Lehman said. “Passing her record makes me excited for the championship season because I know I am going to be making history here at UWO like she did. It’s cool because it makes me believe that I could do amazing things like she did.”
Lehman said she credited her improvement over the past few years to increased dedication both physically and mentally.
“Within the past few years, I really amped my training,” Lehman said. “I started doing more miles throughout the week. My workouts were more intense. I also made sure to eat more and sleep more to help with recovery and training.”
Lehman said she also emphasizes the importance of journaling as a key factor in her personal growth.
“I haven’t been the most confident person, but through journaling and focusing on the good things in life helped change my perspective on life,” she said. “I journaled about facing my fears and running the race already inside me. Journaling about being a confident person was crucial to me being a more confident runner and person.”
As her collegiate career continues, Lehman said she hopes her journey leaves a lasting impact on the program.
“I want to be remembered for my fierceness and how I never gave up despite the heartbreaks that I went through,” Lehman said. “I started here as the slowest runner on the team who couldn’t even break six minutes in the mile to now hold a record here with an average pace of 5:04. I want to be remembered for someone who didn’t give up when I had deep depression that caused me to sit out for half a season and for someone who didn’t give up despite having intense anxiety and panic mid-race which caused me to drop out of races. I have had to deal with the biggest heartbreaks this sport has and I am still here running with fire and passion in my heart.”
