Kenai and Soldotna track and field athletes have always left their mark on the Alaska high school track and field record books; and again, locally raised and trained track stars rise to national prominence in collegiate track and field.
Soldotna High School graduate and UAA track standout Danielle McCormick sprints from the field to capture the Division II 800M championship at the 2018 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships held Saturday in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Boise State’s Allie Ostrander, KCHS track and cross cross country running multiple state champion and NCAA national champion in the 2017 3000M Steeplechase, finished second in the women’s 3000M run at the 2018 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships held Saturday at College Station, Texas.
Dani McCormick (SoHi Class of 2015)- National Division II 800M Champion
Dani McCormick sprinted from the pack down the final straightaway to claim the victory in the women’s 800M run and the first ever NCAA women’s track championship for the University of Alaska, Anchorage; clocking a championship time of 2 minutes, 7.79 seconds at the 2018 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.
McCormick, the record holder in the 800M for UAA, becomes the first female and only the second UAA track athlete to win a national championship at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
McCormick won the 800 meters at the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships (Feb. 17) and the 800 meters at the UW Open (Feb. 11) earlier in the 2018 indoor season. McCormick also becomes a two-time All-American and holds the UAA women’s best marks in the 800M event for indoors (2:07.13) and outdoors (2:07.60).
The UAA junior from Soldotna High School is a three-time Alaska track and field state champion (back-to-back-to-back 4X800M Relay championships with the Stars) and earned eight state medals in track and field during her career at SoHi.
McCormick and the Seawolves open the 2018 outdoor track season at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational, March 16-17.
Allie Ostrander (KCHS Class of 2015)- National Division I 3000M Runner-Up
Allie Ostrander raced to the tape in the NCAA Division I Womens 3000M, narrowly finishing second at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at College Station, Texas.
Ostrander posted a time of 8:54.35, just .99 seconds behind champion Karissa Schweizer of Missouri. Ostrander’s time was only .08 seconds off her Boise State school record. Saturday’s result earns Ostrander her fifth Division I All-American honor. Ostrander also ran the anchor leg for the Boise State distance medley relay team, which finished fifth.
Ostrander’s runner-up finish is the best by a Mountain West athlete in the women’s 3,000m at the indoor national championship, while also being the highest-finish by a Boise State athlete at the indoor national championship since Eleni Kafourou won the 2009 national title in the triple jump.
The Boise State Bronco junior (with different eligibility available in both track and cross country), Ostrander is a former six-time Alaska state track champion, three-time cross country 4A state champion and six-time Alaska Gatorade award winner (2-track, 4-cross country) competing for the Kardinals.
Allie Ostrander and the Broncos will compete in the San Francisco State Distanc Carnival to open the outdoor season for collegiate track and field.
McCormick Photo courtesy of Howard Loa
