By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) and Olivia Mancl (Jr./So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) have been named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII for NCAA Division III in the women's track and field and cross country category, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America. By being named First Team Academic All-District, Ostrandre and Macle are eligible for the 2015-16 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-America Team, which will be released on Wednesday, June 22.
A total of 11 athletes were selected for the Academic All-District VIII Team. Ostrander and Mancl were two of four athletes chosen from the Northwest Conference.
First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District
Taylor Ostrander (Sr.) was selected First Team Academic All-District VIII for the second time. She is currently competing at the 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where she placed sixth in her preliminary heat of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to qualify for the final. She will run in the championship race on Saturday, May 28 at 12:45 p.m. CDT/10:45 am. PDT.
While majoring in Exercise Science, Ostrander has earned a 3.82 cumulative grade point average. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She has received All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA seven times in cross country and track and field, and has attained the requirements to earn the honor in track and field again this spring.
Earlier this year, Ostrander won the 5,000-meter run at the Northwest Conference Championships for the third consecutive season with a time of 17:32.92. She won the NWC title in the steeplechase in 2014.
Ostrander is ranked 11th in NCAA Division III this season in the steeplechase with a time of 10:47.17. She is 33rd in the 5,000-meter run at 17:19.08 and is 38th in the nation in the 10,000-meter run with a career-best time of 37:00.02.
On Willamette's all-time lists, Ostrander is third in the steeplechase (10:40.86 in 2014), fifth in the 10,000 and sixth in the 5,000 (17:13.53 in 2014).
She is just the third Willamette student-athlete to qualify for eight NCAA championships in a career with four in cross country and four in track and field. The others are Nick Symmonds ('06) and Michaela Freeby ('15).
In cross country, she earned All-America honors last fall by placing 26th at the 2015 NCAA Division III Championships. Her efforts helped Willamette place 10th in the nation in the team standings. Willamette finished 12th in Division III in 2013 and took 15th in 2014.
She won the NWC individual cross country title and was named NWC Women's Runner of the Year in 2014. She helped Willamette win the NWC cross country team title in 2013 and 2014, as well as the NCAA West Regional championship in 2014 and 2015. She is ranked sixth all-time for the Bearcats in the 6-kilometer race at 21:33.95.
Ostrander was the winner of the 2015-16 Jean Williams Award as the Bearcats' top senior women's athlete. Criteria for the award include developing and demonstrating strong leadership skills and outstanding athleticism, while maintaining a high rank of scholarship.
Oliva Mancl (Jr., So.) was named First Team Academic All-District VIII for the first time. She is majoring in Biology and owns a 3.72 career GPA. She is a junior this year in cross country and is a sophomore in track and field after missing one season due to injury.
Mancl placed second in the nation at the 2015 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Winneconne, Wisconsin, with a time of 21:25.4, as she finished just 2.3 seconds out of first place to earn All-America honors. Also in the fall of 2015, she won the NWC individual cross country championship and took second place at the NCAA West Regional.
In 2014, she placed 48th at the NCAA Championships in cross country. She was 80th at the NCAA Championships in 2013.
She placed second in the NWC and was third at the West Regional in cross country in 2014. She took seventh place in the NWC and finished ninth in the West Regional in 2013.
Mancl is currently at the 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Waverly, Iowa. She will compete for the national title in the women's 5,000-meter run on Saturday, May 28 at 4:25 p.m. CDT/2:25 p.m. PDT. She is one of 22 competitors in the event.
Last year, she placed ninth in the NCAA in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:32.26 in the championship race. She ranks second on the Bearcats' all-time list in the 5,000 with a career-best time of 16:46.99 at the Willamette Invitational this season. She is third all-time at WU in the 1,500 after earning a time of 4:30.85 at this year's San Francisco State Distance Carnival.
She won an NWC title in the 1,500 in 2015 and took third in the NWC in the 800-meter run the same year.
Mancl is ranked eighth on the NCAA Division III performance list this season in the 5,000 and is ranked 11th in the 1,500. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in both events, but is only competing in the 5,000 due to scheduling concerns.
CoSIDA District VIII
CoSIDA District VIII includes colleges and universities in the western United States. Athletes nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative GPAs of 3.3 or higher (4.0 scale). Each athlete was at her current college or university for at least one academic year.
