EUGENE, Ore., (KBOI) — Boise State redshirt freshman Allie Ostrander competed in her fourth ever 3,000 meter steeplechase event on Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
She's now the national champion.
“When you’re at a national championship, the win is always the goal,” Ostrander said. “That’s what people come here to do - they come to be the best in the nation in their forte. So it was definitely in mind (wanting to win), but to actually prepare for it and come perform, it’s always such a blessing. I couldn’t help but be a little surprised that all the pieces fit together today.”
The redshirt freshman quickly moved to the front of the pack at the beginning of the race, setting the tone for what was an honest pace throughout. New Hampshire’s Elinor Purrier and Ostrander eventually separated themselves from the rest of the pack with a couple laps to go, setting the stage for a thrilling final 800 meters.
Purrier momentarily took the lead at the 300-meter mark, but Ostrander responded with a huge kick to reclaim the lead on the final curve. Ostrander cemented the title with a clean jump over the water pit and a perfect hurdle over the final barrier to earn the five-second victory.
“I told her before the race, ‘you’re tougher than anybody else in this race, and you have to show that,’” head coach Corey Ihmels said. “It came down to who wanted it the most, and she did. It was her hurdling that won it for her. Everything that everyone said she wasn’t, she showed otherwise.”
Ostrander is the 10th individual national champion and the seventh track and field national champion in school history. She joins Eleni Kafourou (long jump - 2009) and Emma Bates (10,000m - 2014) as the third woman to win a national title in the Bronco track and field program.
ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifLS8zqurrGeSpLa0sYysq5qslWS7osDIqKWapF2YtaK5z2aZqKGjmnq0wMCtnKxlkaG5qrGMqKqtqpGjsaa%2BjLCgp6tdaH1xfMxmqq2dlaW5pq%2FHmqqe