Oregon State
Pac-12 Championships
Almen Third in HJ, Nowlin Sets School Steeple Record At Pac-12's
May 11, 2013 | Women's Track & Field
May 11, 2013
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Oregon State freshman Sara Almen finished third in the high jump and junior Taylor Nowlin set a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the first day of competition at the 2013 Pac-12 Track and Field Championships in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Almen, the Beavers' two-sport star and one of the nation's top first-year jumpers, finished third in a loaded 21-person field after clearing 5-10, tying her best outdoor mark of the season. The local Albany, Ore. product edged out Oregon's Lauren Crockett on jumps and finished behind Arizona's Brigetta Barrett and Washington State's Holly Parent (5-11.25). Barrett's leap of 6-6.25 broke the collegiate record previously held by UCLA's Amy Acuff (6-6; 5/19/1995) and is the best in the world this year.
"We've seen all season that Sara is one of the best young jumpers there is," Oregon State head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "To go 5-10 and finish third in her first championship meet is a huge accomplishment. She really battled out there against some stiff competition. The sky is the limit for her."
With her third-place finish, Almen became OSU's second-highest finisher at the conference championships since the reinstatement of the program in 2005. At the Pac-10 Championships two years ago, Laura Carlyle ran a 4:20.98 1,500 to finish second. Almen's high jump performance is also the best for a freshman at the Pac-12 Championships since Barrett herself, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist, came in third after jumping 6-0 in 2010.
Almen will next be in action in two weeks, when she competes at the 2013 NCAA West Regional Preliminaries in Austin, Texas. Her 5-10 mark is currently tied for 12th in the West.
Taylor Nowlin now has a good chance to join Almen and sophomore Kinsey Gomez, who qualified earlier this season in the 5K, in The Lone Star State after the junior broke the school record with a time of 10:36.75 in the 3,000m steeplechase. That would have placed Nowlin 43rd in the West Region coming into the weekend. The top 48 earn berths to compete in Austin.
"Taylor had a great bounce-back performance from when she ran at Payton Jordan on April 28," Sullivan said. "She showed some big-time effort and ran with no fear. She ran a 10:40 flat 3,000 in high school and just posted a 10:36 over barriers and water jumps. It was very impressive."
Nowlin, who finished 11th, trimmed 10 seconds off her PR and cut 16 seconds off her last time in the event from the Payton Jordan Invite two weeks ago. Her previous best came at last season's Pac-12 Championships when she ran 10:46.47. Nowlin vaulted into first place on Oregon State's all-time list with her effort, eclipsing Lauren Denfeld's 10:38.28 from Payton Jordan in 2008.
In other results, freshman Kayla Fleskes, who became the first OSU javelin thrower at the conference championships since Dave Dmytrow in 1988, finished 15th with a mark of 124-00. Mary Claire Brenner finished 17th in the shot put with a heave of 42-2.75, becoming the school's first competitor in that event at the Pac-10/12 Championships since Beth Nygren in 1988.
Emily Weber was Oregon State' top finisher in the preliminaries of the 1,500, coming in 19th with a time of 4:33.76. Kelsi Schaer ran 4:35.48 to finish 22nd, Kinsey Gomez crossed in 4:36.46 (26th) and Maureen Tremblay in 4:50.57 (30th). Gomez ran the shorter distance to preserve her fitness for the 5K at the NCAA West Regional and persevered despite coming down with a stomach bug before the race.
"Kinsey struggled because of her illness, but wanted to run. It was just unfortunate timing," Sullivan said of Gomez. "She's so dedicated and wanted more, but knows that health and timing are a part of the game. We expect her to be ready to go for the 5K in Austin in two weeks."
Senior Kristin Oenning had her best high jump showing in her third appearance at the Pac-12 Championships, clearing 5-5 and finishing tied for 16th.
On Sunday, freshman and school record holder Michele Turney will compete in the triple jump at noon. Fleskes is entered in the discus at 12:15 p.m. and Kira Kelly will run the 5K at 4:10 p.m.
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