Graduate student and multi-event athlete Nikki Boon had an unforgettable indoor track season this year. Boon became the first woman at the Division III level to reach 4,000 points in the indoor pentathlon at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships and the second Emory University athlete ever to win an individual indoor national championship. Her record-breaking performance included first-place finishes in the 60-meter hurdles and shot put and top-three finishes in another three events. Boon said she hopes to avoid injuries and carry this momentum through the final stretch of the outdoor season.
“I opened up outdoor season really well as well, so that just came off of indoors, and it was great,” Boon said. “Hopefully I can keep improving and score even more points.”
Boon credits much of her success to her work with Emory University Track and Field assistant coach Jessica Fritsche. She said she works with Fritsche throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons to improve both her performance on the track and her mental approach.
“We've just been working really hard on mental health and just staying positive, and honestly, just having fun,” Boon said. “I went into nationals with a mindset like, ‘Oh I’m excited to be here, and I’m ready to compete and I’m just excited to have fun,’ and I think it shows in the results.”
Last year, in her first season at Emory after competing at Coastal Carolina University (S.C.) as an undergraduate, Boon had plenty of success, scoring a second-place finish in the pentathlon at the Indoor Track and Field Championships. This season, Fritsche said Boon has focused on consistency in her training which helped her immensely in earning the national championship this season.
“When you improve in that way as an athlete, then your practices end up being better, and then your competition ends up being better,” Fritsche said. “She really now loves what she does. She enjoys every moment, enjoys the process, and it's just made the experience so much better.”
Boon’s teammate, graduate student sprinter Eva Carchidi, said she is a “natural leader” because of her athletic ability and positive impact on other team members.
“She’s just a really great teammate,” Carchidi said. “Everyone just looks up to her as a person and as an athlete. She's always just super supportive, she knows what everyone has going on. She wants the best for everyone and wants to get the best out of them.”
Boon and Carchidi ran together on the 4x400 meter relay that earned fifth place at the indoor championships. Carchidi said her teammate knows how to boost the team’s spirits and prepare them for a race.
“She definitely can get very hype, very energetic,” Carchidi said. “But she also does bring a very confident and calm presence before, and I think she knows when to bring both of those out, and what teammates need which from her.”
In addition to being a leader during competitions, Boon has impacted the program as a whole. Fritsche said in her short time at Emory, she has embraced being a role model for many younger athletes.
“When you are good and you are performing really well, you have these younger athletes that are coming in and being like, ‘I want to be like her,’” Fritsche said. “She has made such a big difference in our program, especially on the women's side, of building those relationships with the freshmen, with the sophomores, and being not just a good example, but just helping guide them.”
While Boon looks to finish the rest of the outdoor season strong, Fritsche said Boon has already cemented her Emory legacy.
“She’s someone we look at, as coaches, as a leader for this program,” Fritsche said. “And someone who’s really made a huge difference in her short time here.”
