Weather delays couldn’t derail Eastern Oregon University senior Rachel Roelle of Anchorage at the NAIA Track & Field Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. She remained calm, cool and collected before dropping the hammer on the competition for a dominating victory in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Roelle, of West High fame, crushed her own school record… Read more »
Anchorage’s Rachel Roelle of Eastern Oregon University ripped off a massive 11-second personal record in the 1,500-meter run at the Cascade Conference Championships in Hermiston, Oregon. The senior clocked a time of 4:34.01 to break a 9-year-old school record and hit the NAIA national qualifying mark in earning a silver medal in the women’s final…. Read more »
Rachel Roelle of Anchorage joined the ranks of repeat NAIA All-Americans from Alaska at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Eastern Oregon runner earned top-eight finishes in the 3,000 meters and the distance medley relay for her third career All-American finish. In 2016, she was eighth in the 1,000 meters…. Read more »
Eastern Oregon senior Rachel Roelle of Anchorage just missed All-American honors at the NAIA Cross Country Championship at Fort Vancouver, Washington. Racing in her final college cross country race, she finished the women’s 5K course in 18:08 and placed 32nd out of 338 runners to narrowly miss All-American recognition by two spots. “Rachel ran an… Read more »
Eastern Oregon University cross country and track coach Ben Welch has a problem. He’s running out of Alaskans. The longtime NAIA coach has had incredible success recruiting runners from his home state, particularly two families – the Roelles out of West Anchorage and the Updikes from Ketchikan. “I don’t specifically target certain families, but when… Read more »
Running a smart, savvy race, Rachel Roelle of Anchorage was rewarded for her strategy at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships in Salem, Oregon. The Eastern Oregon University redshirt junior earned all-conference honors with a fifth-place finish out of 78 college women. “She came into the meet ranked 15th and ran a superb tactical race on… Read more »
Rachel Roelle of Anchorage broke the Eastern Oregon University school record in the 1,000-meter run at the Boise State Team Challenge in Idaho. The sophomore clocked a time of 2:57.86, slashing 10 seconds off her personal best. In addition, her time qualified her for the NAIA national championships next month in Johnson City, Tennessee. “Part… Read more »
A pair of Alaskans helped the Eastern Oregon University men’s cross country team enjoy one of the best days in school history. Buoyed by Ketchikan’s Lucas Updike and Anchorage’s Hans Roelle, the Mountaineers finished with the third best time in school history on their way to winning the Inland Empire Championships in Idaho. Updike was… Read more »
Alaskans Rachel Roelle and Lucas Updike of Eastern Oregon University each posted cross country victories at the season-opening competition at the Whitman Invitational in Washington. Anchorage’s Roelle won the women’s 6-K race in 23:36, 10 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. She was one of only two Eastern Oregon runners among the top 14 finishers,… Read more »
When Ben Welch of Wasilla started coaching track and field at Eastern Oregon University 22 years ago he probably assumed he would have some Alaskans on his team, but it’s unlikely he knew they would bring him so much success. The Alaska pipeline spewed a couple more champions and a ton of points as the… Read more »
