Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central High School, finished 13th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic in Palo Alto, California.
In early June, the redshirt junior at Boise State became the first woman to win three straight NCAA Division I steeplechase crowns with her personal-best time of 9 minutes, 37.73 seconds.
Sunday marked a step up in competition to the best the world has to offer. Ostrander slashed her personal best to 9:31.44 in finishing 13th and losing her undefeated status in the steeplechase.
The race was won by Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya in 8:55.58, the best time in the world this season. A little under a year ago, Chepkoech set the world record in the event at 8:44.32.
Emma Coburn of the United States finished second in 9:04.90, recovering from a fall during the race. Coburn won the steeple at the 2017 World Championships in London and also earned a bronze medal in the steeple in the 2016 Olympics.
The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association said after the race that Ostrander’s new personal best put her seventh on the list of steeples run by a college athlete at any meet.
Thursday, Ostrander was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Cross Country/Track and Field First Team, announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Ostrander earned the honor for the second straight year.
Ostrander graduated with a degree in kinesiology in May, finishing with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average.
