TROY — Troy High School senior distance runner Millie Peltier will be saving her best for last.

At least when it comes to the 2,000-meter steeplechase.

Peltier recently lowered her own school record in the event by 17 seconds at the Firebird Invitational, finishing fourth in 7:41.83 in what she thought would be her final race in the steeplechase.

She found out she wasn’t done quite yet.

Her time was fast enough to qualify her for nationals at the University of Oregon on June 15.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Peltier said. “I never thought I would qualify for nationals. I was so excited.”

Peltier remembers the first time she ran the steeplechase — her sophomore year at the Herb Hartman.

“I was nervous,” she said. “Because, I had never run it before. I didn’t really know what to do.”

Her view on the race has changed quite a bit since then.

“I love it,” she said. “It is different than the other races. There is a lot of stress in the other races and it just seems like a fun event without the stress.”

And as her running career nears and end, she couldn’t think of a better place for her final race.

“It will be in the stadium at the University of Oregon,” she said. “With it being my final race, I am sure I will be pretty emotional.”

But, she couldn’t image a more perfect ending.

“I want to run 7:30,” she said about her time. “I thought I was done running the race since I am not running in college. It is just the perfect way to end my senior year.”

Running her favorite race one more time.

You can reach Sports Editor Rob Kiser at [email protected]