The NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships are this weekend at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala., and Hannah Fields is on a mission. Not only will the Oklahoma Baptist senior be going for her fifth, sixth, and seventh NAIA track titles for 2015, but she’ll be chasing the USATF “A” standard (4:09.50) in the 1500m.

Fields is one of the fastest collegians in track and field, regardless of division. She’s ranked No. 9 in the 1500m (4:13.76) and 29th in the 800m (2:04.90) across all college levels, but you’ve probably never heard of her. Why? Because she turned away Division I programs in high school to attend Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Okla., an NAIA institution with a student population of 1,979.

“To be honest, I hated running,” Fields said, who won four indoor NAIA titles this March, including a blistering 4:37.26 in the mile.

Fields, (Helker, before her marriage this past June to Ryon Fields) was a 5:25 miler in high school while running for North High School in Edmond, Okla. She won three state titles, and her 2:12 800m time warranted attention. However, Fields told her high school coach to tell inquiring coaches from big schools that she was “not interested.”

“I didn’t want to go to a big school because, like I said, I didn’t really like to run that much. I was just kind of afraid that if I were to go to a big school running would just consume me.”

Fields then contacted OBU Head Coach Ford Mastin and asked if he would be interested in letting Fields run on the team. According to Fields, Mastin didn’t even try recruiting her, assuming she wouldn’t be interested.

The team and staff at OBU have made all the difference for Fields, and her progression proves it. She’s lowered her 800m time from 2:09 to 2:04, her 1500m from 4:40 to 4:13, and her 5:25 mile time from high school was lowered to 4:37 en route to winning the NAIA title in March. The performance set a new NAIA Championship record, and was one of four event victories (2 individual, 2 relays) that helped OBU win the team title.

That performance made Fields realize she could keep running competitively after college. “I finished the mile and thought, ‘Oh wow, I feel like I could’ve gone faster,’” Fields said. “And I started looking at my times compared to the Division I times.”

“I had already started thinking about wanting to run professionally at that point, and after that I kind of started actually believing that I could do it, that I could be at that level.”

A few weeks ago at the Payton Jordan Invitational, Fields won her section of the 1500m in 4:13.26, beating Nike’s Phoebe Wright and Sammy Silva, as well as All Americans Brook Handler and Sara Sutherland. Fields calls the Stanford experience “really humbling and exciting at the same time.”

“I went into it wanting to run a fast time,” Fields said. “If I’m in a position to win I will, but that wasn’t really what my focus was on. This win was kind of a cherry on top.”

Fields attributes part of the reason why she’s grown to love running more is because she is encouraged to find the joy in the sport, and because of her faith.

“God has just given me a big passion to win, good or bad sometimes,” Fields said. “I just really love striving for excellence. I think that really sets me apart.”

Another support factor for Fields is her husband, Ryon Fields. Hannah and Ryon have been together since they were fifteen, and both attended OBU.

“You go to a small Christian school, and people like to get married young,” Fields said, laughing. “I'm not going to fall into that stereotype!” But Ryon proposed during Christmas break of Hannah’s junior year and they married in June. His support motivates Hannah’s success. “He jokes sometimes ‘I’m known as Hannah’s husband," Fields said. “But he really is the biggest reason why I decided to continue running and pursue it further.”

When Hannah warned Ryon about the lifestyle of a post-collegiate runner, Ryon only encouraged her more. “He said, ‘I would rather you regret failing than regret not going for it."

With the support from Ryon, Coach Mastin, and her teammates, Hannah Fields is going for NAIA history this weekend. She is entered in three events: the 800m, 1500m, and 4x800m. She’s run faster than the 4:16.56 1500m championship record set by Sarah Howell of Simon Fraser in 1992, and could break Helen Croft’s (Simon Fraser) 2:02.12 800m record from 2011.

Whatever happens, Fields is determined to get to the U.S. Championships in June. If she does not hit the qualifying time this weekend, she said she will look for other meets before the late June championship to run fast.

Either way, the NAIA turned national talent is here to stay.