Allie Ostrander was selected as our Alaska Athlete of the Week after a standout perfmance at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Richmond, Va.
The Soldotna native worked her way through the field and stormed to the finish line Saturday to seize fourth place among elite women, and qualify for the World Championships in Serbia in March.
Ostrander clocked 33 minutes, 52.5 seconds on the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) course and delivered the fastest final kilometer (3:10.0) in the field.
The 27-year-old will compete in the third different type of world championship. A three-time NCAA Division I steeplechase champ at Boise State, she won the women’s junior title at the 2015 World Mountain Running Championships in Wales and competed in the steeple at track and field’s 2019 World Championships in Qatar.
Ostrander, a six-time junior girls champion and one-time women’s champ on Mount Marathon, will be inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in April.
Also receiving votes:
- Alaska Youth Soccer 08 Boys Soccer Team – The U16 squad of top players from across Alaska became the first boys team in state history to reach the title game of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Far West Championships.
- Ava Earl – The Girdwood runner opened her indoor track and field season with a bang, winning the mile at the Aurora Grand Prix in an astounding time of 4 minutes, 42.74 seconds (2nd fastest women’s time in Alaska history).
- Luke Jager – The Anchorage skier won both races at a Super Tour cross-country ski series in Lake Placid. He won the classic sprint by less than a second and 10K mass-start by 13 seconds.
- Morgan Maldonado – The Mountain City Christian girls basketball player won MVP honors at the Alaska Airlines Classic. She ranked fifth in the tournament in points (38) and third in assists (10) while leading the Lions to a 3-0 record.
- Bryce Monrean – The Anchorage hockey player had a big hand in the Wolverines’ NAHL weekend sweep of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. He furnished one goal and fives assists over the two victories.
- Alissa Pili – She deliivered a statement 37-point performance against her former team to lead No. 20 Utah over No. 6 USC 78-58 in Salt Lake City. The All-American forward from Anchorage hit 13-of-16 field goals, including five of six 3-pointers.
- Olivia Soderstrom – The Service High School skier turned in a dominant performance in the Lynx Loppett, winning both races at Kincaid Park on Friday and Saturday.
The Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Monday.
Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.