Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central High School now living in Seattle, finished fourth in the open women’s race at USA Track and Field Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Richmond, Virginia.
By finishing in the top six, Ostrander qualifies for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, which will be March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Ostrander covered the 10-kilometer course in 33 minutes, 52.5 seconds to take fourth. The win went to Weini Kelati in 32:58.6.
On her YouTube channel, which has a full report on the race, Ostrander said she started the race conservatively.
At the midway point, Ostrander was in ninth place, but was less than two seconds from fifth place. By 7K, she was fifth in a tight pack of runners vying for fourth through seventh place.
Over the last kilometer, Ostrander battled with Cailie Logue for fourth place. Ostrander ran the last kilometer faster than anyone else in the race and beat Logue by .02 seconds.
