What can't Natalie Cook do?
The Flower Mound (TX) senior and Oklahoma State signee claimed another national record at the Stanford Invitational on Friday in Palo Alto, California, though it was the way she did it that truly made waves.
She absolutely demolished the former mark -- and ran a World top 10 time in the process.
Cook, the reigning MileSplit50 Runner of the Year in cross country, secured a time of 15:25.00 on Friday in the women's 5K to finish third overall, shattering the former overall mark of 15:34, which current BYU freshman and Science Hill grad ('22) Jenna Hutchins achieved in 2020.
Amazingly, her 3K split of 9:18.76 would actually be ninth all-time in high school.
Previously, Cook re-set the national high school record in the 4xmile with Flower Mound at New Balance Nationals Indoor and ran the second-fastest 2-mile recorded at the meet.
Cook went through 1K in 3:05.97, 3K at 9:18.76 and finished her last 400m in 71 seconds.
Her last lap was her fastest overall.
Cook ran nine seconds faster than Hutchins' former record and a whole 20 seconds better than Mary Cain's mark of 15:45 from 2013 at the Portland Track Festival. She's now one of 10 girls to go under 16 minutes for 5K on the track.
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