2015 Kenai Central graduate Allie Ostrander picked up her first victory as a professional runner Saturday, winning the 3,000-meter run at the prestigious Millrose Games in New York City.
Ostrander achieved legendary status at Kenai Central and Boise State University by leading races early and setting a pace the opposition couldn’t match.
Saturday, Ostrander showed off a finishing kick, taking down Julie-Anne Staehli of Canada in the final 100 meters. Ostrander won with a personal-best time of 8 minutes, 48.94 seconds, while Staehli was second at 8:49.01.
This was Ostrander’s first major meet after having had time to settle in as a pro. In early June in Austin, Texas, Ostrander became the first female athlete to win three consecutive Division I track and field 3,000-meter steeplechase titles. In late June, Ostrander finished 13th in the same event in a stacked Prefontaine Classic in Palo Alto, California, and the 13-time NCAA All-American turned pro right after that race.
The hectic race schedule continued in late July, when Ostrander took fourth in the steeple at the USA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, to qualify for worlds in Doha, Qatar, in late September, where she didn’t qualify for the finals.
