Staff report
Peninsula Clarion
Former Kenai Central runner Allie Ostrander rode the strength of another collegiate victory to another Athlete of the Week award.
The Boise State freshman was awarded the Mountain West women’s cross-country Athlete of the Week for a third time this season, becoming the first freshman ever to earn the honor three times in one year and the fourth runner overall.
The accolade comes on the heels of a big victory at Saturday’s Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, where Ostrander beat out a field of 246 and broke the course record as well, a mark originally held by seven-time NCAA champion Abby D’Agostino. Ostrander’s 6-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 19.5 seconds, on the Thomas Zimmer Championship course lopped 12 seconds off D’Agostino’s 2013 time.
The performance put the 2015 Kenai Central graduate squarely in the conversation of who will win the Division I women’s individual crown in November. In a weekly rankings lineup posted by Flotrack.org, the website gave Ostrander the No. 1 spot for the first time.
Ostrander also was awarded the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I Women’s National Athlete of the Week honor for meets contested during the week of Oct. 12 through 18. She became the second Broncos women’s runner to receive the award, joining former Boise State runner Emma Bates, who claimed the honor in 2013.
