Sara Almen

Position:
High Jump
Height:
6-3
Class:
Junior
High School:
Santiam Christian HS
Hometown:
Albany, Ore.

PERSONAL BESTS

High Jump – 5-11.25 (i)
UW Final Qualifier
Seattle, Wash., 3/1/13

NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary Championships
2016: High jump, NH
2013: High Jump, t22nd, 5-7

Pac-12 Track and Field Championships
2016: High Jump, 9th, 5-5.25
2015: High Jump, 14th, 5-5.75
2013: High Jump, 3rd, 5-10

TRACK AND FIELD

2016
Outdoors: Placed ninth at Pac-12 meet ... advanced to NCAA West Regional but did not qualify for NCAAs ... honorable-mention Pac-12 all-academic ... also competed at 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, but did not clear the opening height. Indoors: Took fourth at MPSF meet with mark of 5-8.50 ... competed in four events and cleared at least 5-7 in each meet ... named to MPSF all-academic team. Season Bests: Outdoors - High jump, 5-9.25, High Performance Meet, Corvallis (4/30/16). Indoors - High Jump, 5.8.75, High Performance Meet, Portland (2/5/16).

2015
Outdoors: Competed at Pac-12 championships and placed 14th at 5-5.75. Season Bests: Outdoors - High Jump, 5-5.75, Pac-12 championships, Los Angeles (5/16/15).

2014
Outdoors: Competed unattached six times … Cleared a season-best 5-9.75 at the Oregon Preview (March 22), finishing second … Also crossed the bar at 5-8.75 at the Stanford Invitational (April 4), which placed third in her flight. Indoors:
Cleared 5-1 at the UW Preview (January 18) and 5-7.75 at the Husky Classic (February 15) … Jump at the Husky Classic placed fourth. Season Bests: Outdoors – High Jump – 5-9.75/1.77m, Oregon Preview, Eugene, Ore. (3/22/14). Indoors – High Jump – 5-7.75/1.72m, Husky Classic, Seattle, Wash. (2/15/14).

2013
Outdoors: Became OSU's first female field event participant at an NCAA meet since 1988 when she competed in the high jump at the West Regional in Austin, Texas on May 24 … Cleared 5-7 to finish tied for 22nd overall and was the top freshman … Pac-12 point scorer … Crossed the bar at 5-10 at both the Oregon Twilight (May 3) and the Pac-12 Championships (May 11), finishing first in the former and third in the latter … Was Oregon State’s second-highest finisher in any event at the conference championships since the reinstatement of the program in 2005 … High jump performance at the conference meet was also the best for a freshman at the Pac-12 Championships since Barrett came in third in 2010 … Is currently sixth on OSU's all-time outdoor list and close behind a pair of 5-11 standouts from the early 1980's, Cindy Greiner and Sue Blake … Won the Willamette Invitational with a leap of 5-5.75 in her first collegiate outdoor meet on April 6. Indoors: Cleared 5-11.25 in the indoor season’s final meet to win the UW Final Qualifier (March 1) … Mark tied for 19th in the country during the indoor season and was the third-best for any freshman … Also the fourth-best indoor high jump mark in Oregon State history and the second-best in the Pac-12 in 2013, regardless of season (indoor or outdoor), and behind only 2012 Olympic silver medalist Brigetta Barrett's collegiate-record leap of 6-6.25 at the conference championships … Made her OSU debut during the indoor season at the UW Invitational on Jan. 20, finishing tied for third with a jump of 5-7.75 … Also tied for first at the Husky Classic on Feb. 9 after clearing 5-10. Season Bests: Outdoors – High Jump – 5-10/1.77m (PR), Pac-12 Championships, Los Angeles, Calif. (5/11/13) and Oregon Twilight, Eugene, Ore. (5/3/13). Indoors – High Jump – 5-11.25/1.80m (PR), UW Final Qualifier, Seattle, Wash. (3/1/13).

VOLLEYBALL
2012
Played in 23 matches, starting nine, and saw action in 50 sets ... Finished with 94 kills, an average of 1.88 per set, along with 48 digs and 18 blocks ... Recorded seven kills against USC (Nov. 20) ... Had eight kills to go along with three service aces against California (Nov. 4) ... Posted 10 kills with one ace and 13 digs for a double double against Stanford (Nov. 2) ... Tallied a season-best 13 kills in 36 attempts against Colorado (Oct. 28), finishing with a season-best four service aces and three blocks in what was her first career start ... Picked up eight kills against Utah (Oct. 26) ... Managed nine kills in 19 attempts against Washington State (Oct. 14), adding two blocks ... Had back-to-back four-kill efforts against Presbyterian (Sept. 1) and DePaul (Sept. 9).

SANTIAM CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
Lettered four years in track and field ... Pac-West Track and Field Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior ... Three-time state champion in the high jump and a one-time state champion in the 4x100 relay ... Cleared 5-foot-9 in the high jump to go to USA Nationals as a senior ... Also lettered four years in volleyball for head coach Kim McLain ... Named first team all-league sophomore through senior year and was a first team all-state selection as a junior and senior ... Second team all-state as a sophomore ... Named 3A State Player of the Year her junior year ... Named first team all-state tournament as a sophomore, junior and senior ... Pac-West Player of the Year as a junior and senior ... All-Mid-Valley Player of the Year junior and senior year ... Team won state championships her sophomore and junior seasons ... Served as team captain as a junior and senior.

PERSONAL
Digital communication arts major; made OSU honor roll in winter quarter 2016, winter quarxter 2015 and spring quarter 2014 ... Daughter of Beverly and Kevin Almen ... Has two sisters, Hanna and Mary, and one brother, Ryan ... Father, Kevin, competed in track for two years at Cal Poly Pomona ... Majoring in Exercise and Sports Science ... Favorite TV show is Psych and favorite movie is A Walk To Remember ... Chose Oregon State because "I wanted to play Pac-12 volleyball and stay close to home. Living in Albany, I've been a Beaver fan my whole life so it was a dream come true."