OSU Travels To One Of The Biggest Meets In The Country This Weekend
April 12, 2005
Walnut Creek, Calif. -
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Oregon State women's track will be taking seven ladies to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut Creek, California this weekend. The meet is one of the top three in the country, with over 200 teams competing from all over the United States.
Although the meet runs from Thursday through Sunday, OSU will only be competing in the 5,000 meters and the 1,500 meters Friday evening.
"We will be taking down seven runners this weekend," OSU head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "Kaitlin Poggi, Lauren Denfeld, Taylor Bryant, and Jaime Fuller will run the 1,500, and Ashley Younce, Ashley Francis, and Neoma Palmer will run the 5,000.
"I want to expose a few of our ladies to this level of competition," Sullivan said. "We are going to go down there with high expectations."
OREGON STATE'S LATEST MEET: The Beavers once again brought home multiple second place finishes in the 800 meters, and the 3,000 meters last Saturday morning at the Oregon Mini-Meet in Eugene, Oregon. The began at 9 a.m., marking the earliest starting time for the Beavers thus far this season.
Taylor Bryant finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:18.00, while Noelle Harer finished fourth with at time of 2:21.6.
Neoma Palmer came in second for the Beavers as well in the 1,500 with a time of 4:59.00, while Ashley Younce finished sixth with a time of 4:51.8
"The ladies ran very well today," Sullivan said. "Normally the meets start at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. in the afternoon, last week the ladies were running at night. To actually have been on the starting line this early in the morning and for them to have run as well as they did, I was really very pleased."
HEAD COACH KELLY SULLIVAN: Kelly Sullivan came to Oregon State in January, 2004 to re-start OSU's program after being head cross country and track and field coach at nearby Willamette University, a Division III school in Salem, Ore., since 1997. Sullivan was also an assistant coach at Auburn from 1984-96, and head coach at Clackamas Community College (Ore.) from 1980-84.
Sullivan, 47, guided Willamette's teams to three top-10 national finishes in cross country and track and coached 23 All-Americans, including five individuals who won national championships. t Auburn, he coached 36 All-Americans and at Clackamas he coached 24 NCAA All-Americans.
Sullivan was an All-American in the steeplechase and cross country at Willamette before graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in History and Education. A native of Nehalem, Ore., he graduated from Neah-Kah-Nie High.
OREGON STATE TAKES TO THE ROAD: Oregon State will spend at least the first season of its revived cross country and track programs without a home course or track. The Beavers ran in one meet in Corvallis during cross country season at the Oregon State Track Club Invitational, however they will remain on the road for all of their 2005 track season.
