“I vividly remember Liz saying, ‘Coach, I want to break Rhiana Echols’ records,’ ’’ said Hall, now in his ninth season as the track and field coach at Chicago. Echols was a four-time national champion in cross country and track and a member of the university’s athletic hall of fame.

“I was like, ‘Liz, c’mon . . . that’s not going to happen.’ ’’

The North Easton resident did not fit the profile of a future national champion. As a senior at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Lawton finished third in the 1,500 and 3,000 meters at the Independent School League outdoor track championships.

Yet over a three-day span last week, Lawton won a pair of NCAA Division 3 national championships.

On Thursday, the junior captured the title in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34 minutes, 41.59 seconds at host Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. On Saturday, she returned to place first in the 5,000. Lawton won her specialty in 16:54.05, finishing just ahead of Hanson native Kerry Arouca, a Westfield State College senior who crossed in 17:01.28.

“I know I’ve trained so hard that I know I can do this, but I didn’t know whether the conditions would allow and the field would allow this,’’ Lawton said. “I was really, really surprised. I’m really, really happy.’’

Her track career has not been without disappointment.

As a sophomore, Lawton endured a rough year: her appendix ruptured and she suffered from anemia before a close friend passed away.

“I couldn’t run so sick. Last year really doesn’t count so much,’’ Lawton said, before stopping herself. “It does count. I grew more last year as a person and learned a lot of life lessons. I hit rock bottom and had to reevaluate who I was and what I valued.’’

By the cross-country season last fall, Lawton was back in the frame of mind to dominate — before a calf injury sidelined her for much of the season.

“It was extremely hard to grapple with that. It wasn’t fair,’’ said Lawton, who had suffered stress fractures in both her shins at Thayer that derailed her sophomore and junior seasons. “It’s hard to have something you put so much energy into — that summer I trained so hard and put so much heart and soul into it — and to have it taken away . . . it’s really hard to come back and do the exact same thing.’’

Hall thinks her time off turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Lawton was in peak form for the indoor season, which she capped off with an All-American selection after a fourth-place finish in the 5,000. (Arouca was second.)

“Liz cross-trained extremely hard,’’ said Hall, who also coaches the Maroons’ cross country team. “That injury helped elevate her to where she is now.’’

Lawton ran the 10K only once before nationals, seeded 13th in the 18-person field with a clocking of 36:09.51. Her winning time was 42.2 seconds faster than the runner-up, and the 34:41.59 would have even qualified for the Division 1 championship.

As she prepares for her senior year, there’s some unfinished business. The pre-med major wants to have a good cross country season after that disastrous autumn. And of course, left standing are Echols’ various school records. Lawton has run her favorite race, the 5K, as fast as 16:41 outdoors, but Echols’ mark is a daunting 16:23. Her coach feels virtually nothing is out of Lawton’s reach.

“Now she says that to me and now I’m looking at her like, ‘If those aren’t your goals, you’re selling yourself short,’ ’’ Hall said. “It’ll be very hard to accomplish them, but I don’t think any harder than what she did this week.’’

Rick Seto may be reached at rick.seto@gmail.com.