TAMPERE, FINLAND. -- Furman freshman Kristlin Gear competed as a member of Team USA's U20 World Team in the finals of the 3,000m Steeplechase Friday, where she posted a tenth-place at the 2018 IAAF World Championships in Tampere, Finland.  

Gear, who entered the meet with the fifth-best qualifying time and was the top-seeded American in the finals, recorded a time of 10:00.99.  She advanced out of Tuesday's preliminaries after placing third in her heat with a time of 10:09.08.

Gear qualified for the meet after winning the Steeplechase at the USA Track & Field Junior Outdoor Championships last month.  A native of Fort Meyers, Fla., she took the lead in the third lap and slowly pulled away from the field, winning the race by more than three seconds with a time of 10:28.05.  Gear, who earned honorable mention All-American accolades in the event at last month's NCAA Championships, posted a school-record time of 9:52.71 at the NCAA East Preliminaries to reach the finals, where she placed 24th nationally.

Julie Paré, Furman Sports Information