TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The true spirit of college athletics was thriving at the NCAA cross country championships on Monday, and in no one was it more apparent than the University of Colorado's Jenny Barringer.

Her second consecutive runner-up finish was an achievement to be celebrated in and of itself. But it was a performance that Barringer very easily — and in most respects understandably — could have written off long before the starter fired the gun Monday.

Barringer, after all, was the United States champion in the steeplechase last June, qualifying her for the world meet. Few would have blamed her for gearing all of her training efforts toward the shorter 3,000-meter distance in an effort to get ready for the Osaka race, which was in late August. Such strategy would have compromised her prospects of another top finish in Terre Haute and possibly meant a redshirt season this fall. But elite careers in athletics can be fleeting, and the opportunities to represent your country on the world stage aren't to be taken for granted.

Barringer, however, reminded everyone present Monday the opportunity to run for one's school — and alongside the teammates to whom you've pledged your commitment and persevered with through endless workouts — is no less of a privilege.

After winning the U.S. steeple title, Barringer sat down with CU head coach Mark Wetmore and assistant Heather Burroughs to determine what her training regimen would be like leading up to her August steeplechase races at the world championships, as well as another big race in Paris.

The decision was made that Barringer would tailor her training for the 6K distance with the aim of peaking on Monday.

"The Osaka-Japan plans had to fit into the Terre Haute plan," Wetmore said last week.

Barringer won the September DecaNation steeple race in Paris in school-record time but failed to make finals at worlds. The main goal still remained ahead, however.

Although she lost once again to nemesis Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech, it wasn't without a personal-best performance. Barringer said she went for the victory against Kipyego like she never had before and was proud of her own effort.

Barringer said last week that she had embraced the training plan to focus on cross country season rather than the steeplechase. It was a sentiment she echoed Monday.

"I know some people were really critical of my comment early on after I won USAs about how it was going to be a decision whether I was going to go to worlds or not," Barringer said. "But I stick by that, and I think that I'm first and foremost a collegiate athlete, and I run for the University of Colorado. I'm very, very proud to wear this uniform. And so I want to race for them the best that I possibly can."

Kudos to Barringer for having the guts to put her commitment to her team above her own personal ambitions. It's such actions and sentiments — one star's true appreciation for the opportunity to be a student-athlete — that give Buff fans plenty of reasons to hope Barringer gets many more chances to take on the world.