Kaylyn Christopher
Biography
Preston High / West Virginia University (Mountaineers)
Kaylyn Christopher of Preston High (Kingwood, WV) became the first West Virginia female high school athlete to break 5 minutes for the 1600m. Christopher won the Parkersburg South / Erickson Invitational in 4:58.18 on Thursday, April 13th, 2006. Earlier in that season, on March 28th, Christopher also broke the West Virginia all-time mark in the 3200m with her time of 10:56.18. Christopher would better her time in the 1600m and 3200m by running 4:54.82 and 10:33.02 respectively.
Prep:
Coached by Paul Martin
McCoy Award Winner senior year at Preston High as states top track and field performer
Awarded 2006-2007 Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year as a junior
Member of state champion track squad as a sophomore (60.50 points) and senior (62 points)
State champion and record holder in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore (5:06.22), junior (5:00.18) and senior (4:55.85)
Won state championship and set record in 3,200-meter as a junior (10:55.52)
Named all-state and finished third in the 4x400 relay as a junior (4:10.15)
State champ and record holder in the 800-meter run as a junior (2:16.38) and senior (2:13.67)
Cross country state runner-up as a junior (18:42.00) and senior (19:52.16)
Earned fifth place and named all-state cross country as a sophomore (20:08.00)
Took third place and earned all-state honors in the 800-meter run as a freshman (2:20.48) and sophomore (2:19.72)
Member of record setting, state champion 4x800 relay team as a freshman (9:50.29), sophomore (9:37.34) and senior (9:36.53)
Graduated in 2007
High School Bests:
400 Meter Dash: 1:00.57
800 Meter Run: 2:10.66
1,600 Meter Run: 4:54.82
One Mile Run: 5:09.28
3,200 Meter Run: 10:33.02
Two Mile Run: 11:29.36
5,000 Meter Run: 18:39.00
At West Virginia University
in 2008:
Finished 27th overall in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:33.31 at the NCAA Outdoor Regionals
Part of the DMR team with Marie-Louise Asselin, Karly Hamric and Keri Bland that set a then-outdoor school record with a time of 11:19.81 at Penn Relays
Ran the 1,500-meter in 4:27.38 to move into the top 10 BIG EAST times on April 19 at the WVU Invitational, an NCAA regional qualifying mark
Ran 2:13.32 in the 800-meter run at the WVU Invitational
Turned in a top performance in the 1,500-meter run to place third with a time of 4:34.88 at the Raleigh Relays
At West Virginia University
in 2009:
Competed on the DMR team that finished 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championships
Member of the same DMR team (Christopher, Karly Hamric, Marie-Louise Asselin and Keri Bland) that broke school record at the Alex Wilson Invitational with a time of 11:05.12
Posted a personal-best time of 3:47.51 in the 1,000-meter run at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships
Took 10th in the mile (4:48.14) at the Alex Wilson Invitational
Placed third (3:48.99) in the 1,000-meter race at the Penn State National Invitational
Finished first in the 1,000-meter run (2:52.82) at the Penn State Open
Redshirted the outdoor season
At West Virginia
University in 2010:
Earned two All-America honors at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, one in the mile (4:46.76) and one as a member of the 8th-place DMR team (11:16.39)
Posted a personal-best time of 4:25.7 in the 1,500-meter race to qualify for regionals at the Swarthmore Last Chance meet
Helped 4x800 relay team to post a school record and fourth-place finish at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships after crossing the line with a time of 8:47.9
Finished third at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships as a member of the DMR team
Finished third as a part of the 4x800 relay team
Posted NCAA provisional time in the 3,000-meter race at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup after finishing in second (9:30.95)
Finished sixth in the 800-meter invitational race at the Penn State National Invitational with a time of 2:10.07
Finished first in the 800-meter run at the WVU State Farm Games
Helped the WVU DMR team to a second-place finish at the PSU Northeast Challenge (12:08.82)
Posted a BIG EAST qualifying time at the Sun Angel Classic with a 16th-place finish in the 1,500-meter race (4:27.39)
Took first place in the 3,000-meter run (9:51.85) at the James Madison Invitational
At West Virginia University
in 2011:
Competed at the NCAA East Regional in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.04
Came in eighth place at BIG EAST in the 5,000-meter run in 16:43.65
Achieved eighth place at the Colonial Relays in the 800-meter run in 2:10.88
Competed at the Stanford Invitational in the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races
Finished in fourth at the Kent Taylor-Joe Hilton Invitational in the 800-meter with a time of 2:13.50
Member of 4x800 relay at BIG EAST, helping group to seventh place in 9:08.36
Earned second-best mark in school history in the 1,000-meter race at the Penn State Relays by finishing in 2:45
Came in fifth place at BIG EAST in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:27.16
Finished in first in the 3,000-meter race at the WVU State Farm Games
Competed at the GaREAT Invitational and Columbia Last Chance in the mile
At West Virginia University
in 2012:
(Indoor)
Earned a career-best time of 1:37.48 in the 600-meter run at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge, the teams best time for the event during the year
Member of DMR foursome at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, assisting squad to 7th-place mark in 11:44.08
Helped the 4x800 relay to an 11th-place finish in 9:10.85 at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships
(Outdoor)
Earned a career-best 9:47.86 in the 3,000-meter run for sixth place at the Penn Relays
Came in 14th in the 5,000-meter at the BIG EAST Championships in 17:15.44
Collegiate Bests:
500 Meter Dash: 1:16.94
600 Meter Dash: 1:37.48
800 Meter Run: 2:10.07
1,000 Meter Run: 2:45.56
1,500 Meter Run: 4:25.17
One Mile Run: 4:40.78
3,000 Meter Run: 9:27.16
4000 Meter Run: 15:29.00
5,000 Meter Run: 16:43.65
6,000 Meter Run: 18:22.21
Personal:
Daughter of William and Janet Christopher
One of five children
Birthday is April 10, 1989
Working on a masters degree in secondary education
Earned a bachelors degree in journalism
CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American
2012 Capital One Academic All-District
2012 Capital One/CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American
Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll
BIG EAST Academic All-Star
Cross Country Coach at Fairmont State University and Public Relation Specialist at West Virginia University College of Law