Beavers travel to Bay Area for Pacific-10 Championships
Oregon State will head to this weekend’s Pacific-10 Track and Field Championships with the goal of qualifying more women for NCAA regional or national competition. The Pac-10 meet will be held Saturday and Sunday at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Oregon State looks to continue its most impressive season since the program was reinstated in the fall of 2004. The Beavers will be out to finish in the top half of the field in their events against some of the best runners in the nation.
"They all believe they can do really well," OSU head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "It’s probably as prepared a group as we have had from top to bottom."
One of OSU’s best scoring hopes is junior Lauren Denfeld in the 3,000-meter steepleschase. Denfeld holds the school record in the event, is ranked 10th in the Pac-10 in the event, and has already qualified for the NCAA West Regional in the event.
"Lauren probably has our best chance of placing," said Sullivan, who thinks the Beavers could have several runners perform well in the meet.
Some OSU runners will be making return trips to the Pac-10 Championships, but many of the women competing this weekend - including Julie Garcia, Holli Dieu, Hayley Oveson and Krista Stangel - will be entered in the biggest meet of the Beavers’ season for the first time.
"It is a great group that is going down there," Sullivan said. "I know they have high expectations, and they feel like they belong there."
Last year, OSU’s Ashley Younce was the first person to place in the Pac-10 Championships since the program started up again, placing fifth in the 10,000 meters.
"It’s a natural step from where we were a year ago," Sullivan said, "A year ago, we knew Ashley Younce had a chance of placing, and this year we have a couple more women who have a chance."
Along with Denfeld, Entrants for the Beavers will be Garcia and Noelle Harer in the 800 meters; Dieu, Sylvia Veal and Holly Thomson in the 1,500 meters; Jean-Marie Peterson in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; Oveson in the 5,000 meters; and Stangel in the 10,000 meters. Dieu has battled an illness and it will be determined later in the week whether she will compete.
"We are really excited about the nine who are entered," Sullivan said. "They have prepared, physically and mentally, for going into the meet."
The Beavers will begin running Saturday with the 1,500 meter trials at 2:00 p.m., followed by the 800 meter trials at 4:05 p.m., the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at 4:35 p.m., and finishing the day with the 10,000 meter final at 6:10 p.m. On Sunday, the Beavers will run in the 5,000 meter final at 2:40 p.m. Finals for the 1,500 meters will be Sunday at 12:20 p.m., with the 800 meter finals at 1:40 p.m.
Fans can also catch the meet tape delayed on FSN Northwest on May 19 at 2 p.m.
