With a 9:57.75 time in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the Portland Track Festival on Sunday, rising senior Emily Oren came just 4.75 seconds short of automatically qualifying for the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
Oren entered the race aiming for a time of 9:53 to guarantee herself a spot at the national meet in Eugene, Oregon, in two weeks, but her time was only good enough for a second-place finish.
“I’m a little disappointed,” Oren said after the race. “When I caught back up to the pack I settled a little bit too long and that’s what did me in, but it was a good experience, and I’ve never raced at this level before so it was nice to get one under my belt at least.”
While Oren was unable to ensure herself a spot in the outdoor championships, she could still qualify for the meet.
“Nobody beat me that wasn’t already ahead of me on the list, so I might still make the meet,” she said. “We’re not sure.”
Oren needs some athletes ahead of her to not declare in order for her to qualify.
“I think if I get just one or two maybe that decide they don’t want to run it I’m in, which is really likely because a lot of college athletes don’t run it,” Oren said.
Tonight was the last night for athletes to meet the standard time to qualify for the outdoor championships. Oren said she thinks she’ll know whether she will qualify for the meet in a few days. If she doesn’t make it, she plans to take a break from training.
“If I make it into USA Nationals, I’ll do that, but otherwise I’ll just take a couple weeks off and then start training for cross-country.”
Cross-country season begins in September, and Oren and her teammates will look to improve on their second-place finish last season.
Update: Emily Oren was accepted into the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Congrats to @EmilyOren12 who has been accepted to race the 3K steeplechase at the USA Outdoor Championships next weekend in Eugene, Oregon.
— Collegian Sports (@HDaleSports) June 19, 2015