Track to Send 10 Runners with 16 Qualifying Times to Pac-10 Championships
LOOKING AHEAD - Ten competitors will be representing Oregon State at the 2006 Pacific-10 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, presented by 76 ProClean Gasolines, in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday and Sunday.
The runners have 16 qualifying marks this season. In 2005, Oregon State had six competitors with eight qualifying marks. The increase over that first year has been impressive despite the youth and inexperience.
The team will match up to runners in arguably the nation’s top track and field conference. In the middle distance and distance events, on the women’s side, the conference boasts the either national leader or individuals among the nation’s top competitors.
The quality and depth of the Pac-10 makes the total number of individual and event qualifiers in the second year that much more impressive for this young and developing program.
FSN Northwest will be airing the meet three times: Thurs., May 18 at 12 p.m., Sat., May 20 at 4 p.m. and Sun., May 21 at 1 p.m.
Returning to the meet are junior , and sophomores , , and . And making their first appearances are juniors and , sophomore and freshmen and .
(Portland, Ore./Sunset HS) - Junior has emerged as the top runner for the Beavers, the only athlete qualifying for the regional outdoor competition. Her 5,000 meters time of 16:50.52, ranks her second all-time in Oregon State history. She also holds the No. 4 spot in both the 3,000 meters and 10,000 meters all-time. This season, she has set new personal bests in the 3,000 meters indoor, 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters outdoor and 5,000 meters.
Younce has qualified for the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. She will be competing in the 10,000 meters.
(Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) - Last season in her 10,000 meters debut, sophomore took the sixth place spot in the history books. This season, she has set new personal records in teh 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
Crawford has qualified for the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. She will be competing in the 10,000 meters.
(Bend, Ore./Mountain View HS) - Sophomore has had a strong second season for the Beavers. After red-shirting the cross country season, Denfeld has come back and has set the new school record in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and also set new personal bests in the 1,500 meters.
Denfeld has qualified for the 1,500 meters and 3,000 meter steeplechase. She will be competing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
(Canby, Ore./Canby HS) - Sophomore was the second woman ever to compete in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in Oregon State history last year and held onto the record going into this season. This season she still holds onto the third place spot, and she is eighth all-time in the 1,500 meters, another mark she set last season.
Peterson has qualified for the 1,500 meters.
(Gladstone, Ore./Gladstone HS) - Sophomore began to emerge during the 2005 cross country season as one of the top runners on the team. Poggi held the 3,000 meter steeplechase record for most of the season with a time of 11:15.41. She also moved up the 1,500 meters list into the fifth place position (4:33.24), and she holds the No. 3 spot in the 5,000 meters all-time (17:03.16). She has qualified for three events, more than any other Oregon State athlete. She has set personal bests in the 3,000 meter indoor, 1,500 meters, 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meters this season.
Poggi has qualified for the 1,500 meters, 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meters. She will be competing in the 5,000 meters.
(Portland, Ore./Clark CC/Wilsonville HS) - Junior proved to be one of the top transfers this season. She was in the top seven in cross country who competed in the regional competition, and now has qualified for the Pac-10s. She has set personal bests in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters this season.
Dye has qualified for the 1,500 meters.
(Portland, Ore./Bowdoin Coll./Catlin Gabel HS) - Junior was one of the top recruits in the inaugural season for the program. The All-American transfer from Division-III Bowdoin College, posted top times in the 2004 cross country season, but red-shirted the 2005 season due to injuries.
Palmer has qualified for the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. She will be competing in the 10,000 meters.
(Seaside, Ore/Seaside HS) - Sophomore found her niche in the 800 meters this season being the only athlete to break into the top 10 with a time of 2:13.95 at the Stanford Invitational, a five second improvement from her junior year of high school. Harer was also one of the team’s 10 competitors at the 2005 Pac-10 Cross Country Championships.
Harer has qualified for the 800 meters.
(Eugene, Ore./Sheldon HS) - Freshman has been a pleasant surprise and contributor all year long. After arriving at Oregon State, Thomson wasn’t sure she would compete for the Beavers, but now has competed in the Pac-10 Championships for cross country in the fall, and has qualified for the Pac-10 Championships in track and field. She set personal bests in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters.
Thomson has qualified for the 1,500 meters.
(Aloha, Ore./Aloha HS) - Freshman has had an impressive first year qualifying for both the Pac-10 Championships in cross country and outdoor track, as well as placing ninth all-time in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:39.23.
Veal has qualified for the 1,500 meters.
HEAD COACH KELLY SULLIVAN - In his second year, head coach came to Oregon State to restart the school’s program after being head cross country and track and field coach at 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, 48, 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. At 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 School.
2005 SEASON - The Oregon State women’s track team finished its inaugural track season with current runners making their mark on the record books.
Junior broke into the All-Time Top 10 twice in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In the 5,000 meters, her highest finish was at the Willamette Invitational where she fell sixth on the list with a time of 17:19.8. In the 10,000 meters, she broke into the top 10 in the fourth place spot.
Sophomore placed sixth on the all-time in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:17.04. This was the first time Crawford had competed in the race.
Sophomores and became the first Oregon State women to compete in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Peterson broke into a top 10 list along with sophomore in the 1,500 meters. Peterson was seventh, and Poggi was eighth all-time.
Junior is tenth all-time in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:37.07.
Although the team did not score at the Pac-10 Championships, Younce finished ninth in the 10,000 meters, just one spot out of scoring.
