Denfeld Wraps Up Beaver Track Season - Oregon State University Athletics

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The 2008 Oregon State women’s track season came to a close Saturday evening as senior Lauren Denfeld came in 8th in her section at the NCAA West Region Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Denfeld (Bend, Ore.) finished 24th overall with a time of 10:52.75. She had qualified for the regional with a time of 10:38.28 at the Jordan Payton Cardinal Invitational earlier this month.

Entering the regional, Denfeld was ranked 23rd. In her respective section, she had been running up as high as 5th place before re-aggravating a previous ankle injury in the second water jump of the race.

“Lauren had a bit of an off day today,” head coach Kelly Sullivan said. “The week of the Pac-10s she had twisted her ankle and we’ve been trying to rehab it back into shape. Twisting it in that second water jump really made it tough for her the rest of the way.”

Denfeld was running at regionals for the second consecutive year. She is only the second Oregon State track runner to qualify for a regional since the program’s return in 2004. Ashley Younce qualified in the 5,000-meters in 2006.

“I was very proud of how hard she fought today and how hard she trained after turning her ankle a couple weeks ago,” Sullivan said. “It was unfortunate she twisted her ankle today, but she really fought hard through it.”

Sariah Long of Weber State took the top stop spot in the race with a time of 9:59.63. Pac-10 opponents Lindsay Allen of Stanford and Zsofia Erdelyi USC finished second and third respectively.

Denfeld has had an illustrious track career at Oregon State. Last season Denfeld finished 19th overall in Eugene, Ore. at the West Region Championships after being seeded 26th and this season she broke her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to just name a couple accomplishments.

“She has done a brilliant job in the Oregon State track program," Sullivan said. "Four years ago when she entered the program, neither of us thought she would be at the level she is right now. What she has done here is nothing short of fantastic. I’m very proud of her not only for her accomplishments running, but she has been a great leader for our team.”