Women's Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Lauren Denfeld transitions from Oregon State student-athlete to assistant coach after a solid career for the Beavers, being one of the original student-athletes of the program when it was reinstated.
"Lauren has been with the program from day one as a student-athlete and helped us go from the bottom 10% in the country five years ago to being ranked in the top-30 NCAA Cross Country poll last fall," Sullivan said. "She was meant to be a collegiate coach, and once she saw it, she has made this her desire to start her career here with us, and then go from there. With the staff all being new, she will bring a consistency from day one that is important. I am excited to have her sitting on this side of the fence now and see her growth."
During her time as a student-athlete at Oregon State, Denfeld set the school record for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, breaking it several times, before registering the final mark of 10:38.28 in her final season. Not only does she hold the record, she was also the first woman to ever compete in the event in school history during her rookie season in 2005. She became the second runner in school history to qualify for the NCAA West Regional, earning a pair of berths, finishing 19th in 2007 in the steeplechase. She also holds the school record for the 2,000-meter steeplechase.
Off the track, Denfeld earned the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Second Team honor, adding numerous Pac-10 All-Academic honors in both cross country and track. She was a recipient of a Pac-10 Postgraduate Scholarship.
Denfeld, a Bend, Ore., native, graduated from Oregon State in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration with a focus in marketing and minor in Spanish.
