Track Splitting, North and South - Oregon State University Athletics

CORVALLIS – There will only be seven Oregon State women’s track runners competing this weekend in two different events. Two women will be running at the Pacific Twilight in Forest Grove, Ore. on Friday and five more will be running at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif. on Sunday.

Sophomore Katelyn Van Brunt (Grants Pass, Ore.) and sophomore Jackie Brown (Beaverton, Ore.) will both run in the 800-meters Friday at 6:30 p.m.

“This meet will be a good opportunity for these two to get some good race experience,” head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "It's a good tune up for the rest of the season."

The Pacific Twilight is the only collegiate Northwest meet happening this weekend.

Senior Lauren Denfeld (Bend, Ore.) will run the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Cardinal Invitational and junior Sylvia Veal (Aloha, Ore.), senior Jean-Marie Peterson (Canby, Ore.), junior Holly Thomson (Eugene, Ore.) and senior Noelle Harer (Seaside, Ore.) will compete in the 1,500-meters.

“The Stanford meet is a great opportunity for those five,” Sullivan said. “There will be world class Olympians at this meet. It’s a premier meet for distance races. A number of people who have an opportunity to make the U.S. Olympic team will be at this meet.”

The rest of the team is taking a break from competition this week in preparation for either the Oregon Twilight or the John Knight Invitational at Western Oregon.

“The confidence is running really high, but I haven’t really sensed anyone is satisfied yet, which is unique,” Sullivan said. “In years past I think we’ve hit plateaus and people have felt they met their peak. With this group we’ve reached some plateaus and they keep on. You don’t see anybody jumping around going crazy feeling as though they have won the Olympic gold medal.”

BEAVS BREAKING RECORDS

Beaver runners have been making some noise in the program’s top 10 all-time lists this season. Junior (Aloha, Ore.) ran the second fastest 1,500-meters time in Oregon State history at the Oregon Preview making for the third time she has entered the top 10 lists this season. The first time came at the Washington Indoor Classic where she ran Oregon State’s second fastest indoor mile. Her second top 10 performance came at the Willamette Opener where she ran the ninth fastest 800-meters time in school history.

Junior Holly Thomson (Eugene, Ore.) moved into sixth all-time in the 1,500-meters last week at the Oregon Relays along with freshman Hannah Soza-Hodgkinson (Forest Ranch, Calif.) moving into eighth all-time in the 5,000-meters.

Junior (Klamath Falls, Ore.) has been moving up the charts. In Washington at the Indoor Classic she ran the second fastest 3,000-meters indoor time in school history.

Senior (Bend, Ore.) set a school record at the Washington Outdoor Preview in the 2,000-meter steeplechase and broke her own 3,000-meter steeplechase record by 13 seconds at the Oregon Relays.

In the 5,000-meters freshman (Astoria, Ore.) ran the sixth fastest time at OSU. Chesimet also scored the tenth fastest 3,000-meters time at the Oregon Preview.

In addition, OSU had seven more runners break into the team’s all-time top 10 indoor lists at the Washington Indoor Classic. In the 3,000-meters sophomore (La Grande, Ore.) moved into fourth all-time; senior (Seaside, Ore.) moved into sixth all-time; freshman Hannah Soza-Hodgkinson (Forest Ranch, Calif.) moved into seventh all-time, and senior (Canby, Ore.) finished in ninth all-time.

At the same meet in the indoor mile Thomson finished fourth all-time, senior (Portland, Ore.) finished sixth all-time, and Lampi moved into seventh all-time. In the 800-meters freshman (Beaverton, Ore.) finished good for ninth all-time at OSU.

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