Freeby Places Fourth in 3,000-meter Steeplechase for All-America Honors

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

CANTON, N.Y. -- Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) of Willamette University registered a time of 10:41.63 to take fourth place in the final of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 23. Freeby earned All-America honors for the second time in the steeplechase.

Also in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Willamette's Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) finished 13th in 11:05.29. She reached the final for the second consecutive season.

In the women's 1,500-meter run, Olivia Mancl (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette placed ninth in 4:32.26. Mancl's time was close to her personal record of 4:32.12, set at the Gregory Invitational in Naperville, Illinois, earlier this month. It was Mancl's first time competing at the NCAA Championships.

Defending 3,000-meter steeplechase champion Lucy Cheadle of Washington University (Mo.) kept the title, winning in 10:25.32. Hannah Cole from Williams College (Mass.) was second in 10;32.03. Sanjuanita Martinez from Cornell College (Iowa), who had the fastest time in the preliminary heats, claimed third place at 10:39.82.

Freeby edged out Jacqueline Huber from State University of New York at Geneseo by 0.26. Huber finished fifth in 10:41.89. Alanna McDonough of Colby College (Maine) was sixth in 10:42.03.

Freeby also placed fourth in the steeplechase at the 2013 NCAA Championships. She was 13th in 2012, and took 17th in 2014 despite an injury.

Cheadle, Cole and Freeby held the top three spots for much of the race. Over the final two laps, Cheadle and Cole began to pull away. Martinez caught Freeby in the final 20 meters, but Freeby held off Huber and McDonough to take fourth place. Freeby's time was about one second faster than her time in the preliminary heats on Thursday.

The women's 1,500 was won by Tricia Serres from Luther College (Iowa). Her time was 4:26.30, as she took first by 0.46 over Emily Gapinski from University of St. Thomas (Minn.), who was second in 4:26.76. Hannah Chappell-Dicxk of Eastern Mennonite University (Va.) finished third in 4:27.25.

Maryann Gong from Massachusetts Institute of Technology took fourth with a time of 4:28.58. Anna Harleen of Williams College (Mass.) was fifth at 4:29.27.

Serres and Gong led the way for a good part of the race. Gong slipped from second to fourth after the final back stretch. Serres held off Gapinski for the win.

The NCAA Championships capped a strong season for the Willamette women's track and field team. The Bearcats were ranked fourth in the West Region throughout the season and won five events at the Northwest Conference Championships.

NWC champions for the Bearcats included Mancl in the 1,500-meter run, Ostrander in the 5,000-meter run, and Freeby in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Also winning NWC titles were Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) in the 400-meter dash and Juliet Farnan (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) in the 10,000-meter run.