The Beavers Return To Eugene To Compete In The Prestigious Oregon Twilight This Saturday.
May 3, 2005
Eugene, Ore. -
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Oregon State women's track will be traveling to Eugene, Oregon this Saturday to compete in the prestigous Oregon Twilight. The ladies will be competing in the 800 meters, 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters, and 3,000 meter steeplechase.
The 3,000 meter steeplechase marks the first time the ladies have run the event this season, and the first time in OSU history that a lady has participated in the event.
"Right now we have two potential ladies penciled in for the steeplechase, but we won't know until later this week," OSU head coach Kelly Sullivan said.
Coach Sullivan has entered around 12 to 14 runners, and will not know until Thursday who will be accepted to compete.
"This is our last weekend before the Pac-10 Championships," Sullivan said. "We have a handful of ladies going there, and we want to take advantage of hopefully the good weather and great competition. We are looking to go down and run some personal bests, the idea this weekend is to run fast.
"The Oregon Twilight is a very prestigous meet, a lot of world class runners are going to be there. Many of the runners are post-collegiate, and some of these runners have represented the United States in the Olympics. So, it is a great honor for the ladies to compete with them this weekend."
OREGON STATE'S LATEST MEET: Oregon State women's track traveled to Monmouth, Oregon to compete in the Western Oregon Twilight this Friday evening. The Beavers competed in the 1,500 meters, and boasted consecutive first and second place finishes in the 800 meters.
Noelle Harer finished first in the 800 out of 11 runners with a time of 2:22.71, while Julie Garcia followed her with a second place finish time of 2:23.90. Garcia's finish marked her season best in the event.
OSU placed well in the 1,500 meters with Tara Stirewalt finishing fifth of 13 ladies with a time of 4:59.66, and Heather Wales finishing seventh wih a time of 5:02.98.
Also on OSU's roster and competing unnattached are Cynthia Atencio and Megan Kuntz. Assitant OSU track coach Atencio, finished fourth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:59.43, while Kuntz finished sixth with a time of 5:00.15.
OSU HAS BROKEN THREE OREGON STATE ALL-TIME TOP 10 LISTS THIS SEASON: The Beavers have broken three Oregon State All-Time Top 10 Lists so far this season in the 1,500 meters, the 5,000 meters, and the 10,000 meters.
Lauren Denfeld broke the All-Time Top 10 list for the 1,500 at the Mt. SAC Relays, putting her seventh on the list with a time of 4:38.91.
Ashley Younce has broken OSU's All-Time Top 10 list for the 5,000 twice so far this season. Younce first broke the Top 10 list at the Willamette Invitational, placing her sixth on the list with a time of 17:19.8. Later she broke the Top Ten List at the Mt. SAC Relays putti ng her ninth on the list with a time of 17:29.10. Lastly, Nicole Crawford broke the OSU All-Time Top 10 list in the 10,000 at the Oregon Invitational. The race marked the first time Crawford had competed in the event, placing her fifth on the All-Time list with a time of 38:17.04.
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.
