In a field of the top collegiate female steeplechase runners, Allie Ostrander runs-away from the pack to record a second-straight NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 3000M Steeplechase at the 2018 national championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.
Ostrander, running for Boise State University, ran a time of 9:39.28 in the championship heat of the steeplechase, just-off her personal best which was run on Thursday in the NCAA preliminaries. Ostrander and Syracuse’s Paige Stoner ran side-by-side through most of the race; until Allie Ostrander pulled away and dominated the final lap; winning by more than six seconds over Charlotte Prouse of New Mexico.
Ostrander ran the final straight nearly alone in a final which included six of the top nine runners posting personal best times.
Ostrander is the first women’s steeplechase champion to repeat since 2008.
Ostrander returns to the track for the 5000M final scheduled for 4:25 p.m. AST on Saturday.
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Defending a national championship and making a second run at a distance double; Allie Ostrander is standing on the verge of track greatness.
Ostrander, for a second-straight year, has qualified and is prepared for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field in two distance events: the 3000M Steeplechase and the 5000M run.
Allie Ostrander is the reigning national champion in the 3000M Steeplechase, running away from the field at the 2017 outdoor championships. Ostrander finished fourth in the 5000M in 2017, literally minutes after her steeplechase championship run.
A pair of NCAA milestones await if Ostrander can pull-off the double victories on Saturday.
Allie Ostrander would become the first female to win the two events; not only at the same national championship, but also over the course of an individual career (NCAA women’s track and field introduced the 3,000M Steeplechase in 2001).
Ostrander would also become the first women’s NCAA middle distance or distance athlete to win two national titles on the same day at an outdoor national championship.
Allie Ostrander’s NCAA Championships Race Schedule
Thursday, June 7
Allie Ostrander (3,000m steeplechase, semifinal) | 4:32 p.m.
Saturday, June 9
Allie Ostrander (3,000m steeplechase, final) | 3:54 p.m.
Allie Ostrander (5,000m, final) | 5:25 p.m.