Beavers Head Back To Salem For Chuck Bowles Willamette Invitational
Oregon State is continuing on its road to women’s track and field success with another great weekend under its belt. After finishing strong in the Stanford Invitational, the Beavers will travel to Salem on Friday and Saturday to compete in the Chuck Bowles Willamette Invitational.
"We are on a pretty good roll with the Willamette and Oregon meets," OSU head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "We are getting to the point where people are beginning to believe they belong."
The Beavers traveled to Salem to compete at McCulloch Stadium in the Willamette Opener earlier this season. During their previous visit to Willamette, the Beavers had success with several women posting personal bests, along with new school records. This weekend, Sullivan will switch the runners up by having runners compete in new events.
"Our 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter, and 3,000-meter steeplechase runners will compete in the 1,500 meters, with some of our 800-meter runners competing at 1,500 meters, and some of the 1,500-meter runners will in the 800 meters," Sullivan said. "We are really going to be moving people around this weekend."
Competitors for the Beavers this weekend include Jean-Marie Peterson in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, she is currently third on OSU’s list of its all-time top-10 performers in the event. Krista Stangel, Elise Aschwanden, Hayley Oveson, Noelle Harer and Lorene Young will be competing in the 1,500 meters; Samantha Godfrey, Jenny O’Connor and Rebecca Mishler will compete in the 5,000; Julie Garcia will compete in the 400; Holly Thomson, Holli Dieu, Katelyn Van Brunt and Lauren Denfeld will compete in the 800; and Van Brunt, Garcia, Thomson, and Dieu will also compete in the 1,600-meter relay.
Other teams competing this weekend are Willamette, Western Oregon, Concordia, George Fox, Warner Pacific, Alaska-Anchorage, Pacific, Eastern Oregon, Mt. Hood Community College, Spokane Community College, along with many other local schools and unattached athletes.
"Everyone’s attitudes are good and everyone has been working hard," Sullivan said. "We’re excited; we just have to keep it going."
