Aubrey Moore stepped up to the starting line in the finals of the 400-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships knowing she was an All-American. She was attempting to become the second S&T student-athlete with an individual national championship and the first female to win one.

Aubrey Moore. (Photo by B.A. Rupert)

Unfortunately for Moore, it didn’t happen. In contention for the national title, she was running the race of her life when she fell in the final few meters. She finished eighth.

“It was tough,” Moore says. “Things didn’t end like I wanted them to, but overall I was really pleased with myself for what I accomplished because it was my best year ever.”

To go with her All-American award, Moore set the school record in the 400-meter run with a time of 54.99 in the preliminary round at the NCAA Championships. That time broke the record she set at the Great Lakes Valley Conference outdoor meet a month earlier.

Moore won the outdoor conference championship in the 400-meter run. She was part of the winning relay teams in the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays at the outdoor conference meet, and was a member of the winning team in the 4×400-meter relay at the indoor conference championships.

She also helped the Lady Miners to their highest-ever finish at a conference meet last season when they placed third at both the GLVC indoor and outdoor meets. This season Moore says she’s improved her training habits and hopes to get another shot at that national title.

“Last year I was shocked that I made it there, but proved what I could do. This year I can do even better.”

“Last year I was shocked that I made it there, but proved what I could do,” she says. “This year I can do even better.”