Ostrander runs away with 2nd straight NCAA steeplechase title
Allie Ostrander
The redshirt sophomore improved to 8-0 for her career after another awesome performance in which she dusted a field that saw a half dozen runners set PRs. It didn’t matter as her time of 9:39.28 was still 6 to 10 seconds faster than the other All-Americans in the race.
“Year one was a bit more of a surprise but winning again meant a lot to me,” Ostrander told reporters. “To be able to maintain my spot at the top was really special.”
She smiled as she crossed the finish line and shortly after the race found her mom, dad and older sister for a family hug. It was a cool moment caught on ESPN cameras.
“This will always be more valuable than any national title,” Ostrander said on Twitter.
She’s just the second Alaskan to win multiple NCAA D1 track and field national championships. The other is Anchorage’s Jordan Clarke, who won four titles in the shot put with the Arizona State University between 2009 and 2013.
Ostrander, of Kenai High fame, came back 90 minutes later and placed eighth in the women’s 5,000 to earn double All-American finishes for the second straight year in the same two events. She was fourth in the 5,000 last year.
“It’s a brutal double,” she said. “I’m glad it’s over.”
Ostrander this year earned five All-American finishes in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.