Oregon State
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds
Carlyle Makes History; Advances to National Meet in 5,000 Meters
May 28, 2011 | Women's Track & Field
May 28, 2011
Eugene, Ore. - Junior Laura Carlyle (Kelowna, British Columbia) made history as the first Oregon State female to advance to the NCAA National Championships since the program was reinstated in 2005 under head coach Kelly Sullivan on Saturday afternoon in the 5,000 meters at Hayward Field in the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
"This is a big day," Sullivan said. "I'm really happy for her, and the majority of our team is here to support her. It was a big step. It was a little stressful this week waiting for it, and she just showed how savvy she is and looked like she felt pretty good. So we're happy."
Carlyle, who stuck with eight other runners in the lead pack in the 23-runner field, fell behind a little in the final pair of laps before kicking in the final 200 meters to come back from seventh to fourth, just beating out Jennifer Bergman of Arizona by hundredths of a second.
Overall, she finished with the seventh fastest time of 16:05.04, a new best and resetting the school record she set two months ago (16:19.00) at the Stanford Invitational - the only other time she competed in the race this season.
"I knew that with 1,500 meters speed I maybe had a little more kick than some of them, so I was pretty happy with it," Carlyle said. "I felt pretty confident. That's all you can do during a race is be confident in your fitness. I was confident I could get that fifth spot."
Redshirt senior Hayley Oveson (La Grande, Ore.) finished 12th in the first heat in a time of 16:37.97 to end her career at Oregon State, while senior Jennifer Macias (Hermiston, Ore.) finished 20th in 16:58.56 in the second heat.
Carlyle will compete again on Friday, June 10 at 6:10 p.m. PT in the 5,000 meter finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa at Drake University.
Women's Preliminary 5,000 Meters Overall (Top 5 and Oregon State Finishes): 1. Megan Goethals (Washington) 16:02.64; 2. Kathy Kroeger (Stanford) 16:03.96; 3. Stephanie Marcy (Stanford) 16:04.12; 4. Jordan Hasay (Oregon) 16:04.39; 5. Betsy Flood (Iowa) 16:04.46; 7. Laura Carlyle (Oregon State) 16:05.04.
Women's Preliminary 5,000 Meters Heat One (Top 5 and Oregon State Finishes): 1. Megan Goethals (Washington) 16:02.64; 2. Jordan Hasay (Oregon) 16:04.39; 3. Betsy Flood (Iowa) 16:04.46; 4. Tara Erdmann (Loyola Marymount); 5. Emily Sisson (Wisconsin) 16:09.44; 12. Hayley Oveson (Oregon State) 16:37.97.
Women's Preliminary 5,000 Meters Heat Two (Top 5 and Oregon State Finishes): 1. Kathy Kroeger (Stanford) 16:03.96; 2. Stephanie Marcy (Stanford) 16:04.12; 3. Paula Whiting (Tulsa) 16:04.84; 4. Laura Carlyle (Oregon State) 16:05.04; 5. Jennifer Bergman (Arizona) 16:05.04; 20. Jennifer Macias (Oregon State) 16:58.56.
Players Mentioned
