Carlyle heads to 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
June 4, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. – When head track and field coach Kelly Sullivan went to watch Laura Carlyle run for her junior college four years ago, he knew he saw something special after just watching her run a few hundred meters. Fast forward to the spring of 2012 and Carlyle has earned herself a spot in the Oregon State cross country and track and field history books and will go down as one of the best athletes to come through the university.
“It has been fun to watch her develop and to see how proud her teammates are of her,” Sullivan said. “It is a big deal for the rest of the ladies in the program. It inspires them. It has been fun to see her to continue to take long years here because she hasn’t had a break since she got here and she has kept advancing to the runner she is now.”
Carlyle will compete in the 1,500 meters Thursday June 7 at 4:30 p.m. PT in the semi-final race which will include the best talent at that event in the country, where she is currently ranked no. 17. There will be two heats for the semi-final race and the top-five from each heat, along with the next two fastest times will qualify for the 1,500 meter finals set for June 9 at 9:28 a.m. PT.
“Now we can look at the big goal because she knows that she is ranked 17th and that they will take 12 to the final, so she is going to have the best race of her life there,” Sullivan said. “We are very optimistic that she is going to be in her best at that meet. She has been there before.”
Out of the 11 other runners in Carlyle’s heat, four are from the Pac-12 conference with two from Oregon and one each from Utah and Washington. Carlyle is also one of 21 Canadian’s competing in the NCAA Championships this week.
After putting in a strong performance at the NCAA West Regional and qualifying for the NCAA Championships, Carlyle became the first Oregon State athlete since 1986 to qualify for the NCAA Championships two years in a row. Last year Carlyle qualified for the 5,000 meters, but because she will be competing in the 1,500 meter at the Canadian Olympic Trials she focused on that event this year.
“Not only did she qualify two years in a row, but she has now qualified in two events which was exciting to hear her say it was a sense of pride for her,” Sullivan said. “They are really two very different events. She will have a break because with the 1,500 she will run on Thursday and then get an off day, where with the 5,000 it was usually back-to-back days.”
“We are excited for her to feel good about what she is accomplishing. You don’t usually hear your athletes break it down like that and it is encouraging to hear her taking it all in and that she feels good about her development.”
Carlyle has had a stellar career at Oregon State. She currently holds four different school records which include the indoor mile and 3,000 meters and the outdoor 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. She broke the indoor mile school record three separate times and the 1,500 meters once this season.
Carlyle became the first Oregon State track and field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this winter, which also made her the first-ever OSU track and field athlete to qualify for both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in the same year.
Fans wishing to follow along with the action this week can visit the NCAA Championships Central page here. There will be links to start lists along with live results. Fans can look for recaps and results of Carlyle’s performance at www.osubeavers.com following the race.
Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. For more information follow this Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.
Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube.
