Pasco native Marisa Howard finishes fourth in NCAA steeple finals...

EUGENE—Pasco native Marisa Howard (above/photo courtesy Boise State University) finished fourth in the steeplechase on the final day of the NCAA track & field championships at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

Howard, who finished second in this race in 2014, was in contention for most of the race, sticking with a group that included eventual winner Colleen Quigley (9:29.32) of Florida State, second place finisher Courtney Frerichs (9:31.36) of UM/Kansas City, and pre-race favorite Leah O’Connor (9:33.38) of Michigan State, before being gapped with two laps to go.

Howard finished the race with a new school record and personal best time of 9:37.84, well under the IAAF world championship standard of 9:44.00.

In the women’s high jump, Washington State’s Audrey Ketcham finished in a tie for 21st with a best of 5-7.75 (1.72m) on her second attempt, as she battled the swirling winds throughout the competition.

In the women’s 5000, Washington’s Maddie Meyers finished 21st in a time of 16:44.94, while Kirkland native Tansey Lystad of Portland was 24th in 17:13.37.

Complete day 4 results from the NCAA championships are available here.

Up the road in Portland, Brie Felnagle of Tacoma finished third in the women’s 5000 at the Portland Track Festival at Lewis & Clark College, running 15:37.17, as Emily Infeld of the Nike Bowerman TC won in 15:07.19.

In the women’s 10000, Western Washington alum Sarah Crouch finished seventh in 33:57.93, while Washington alum Megan Goethals was eighth in 34:00.37, as both were chasing the USA Championships standard of 32:58.00.

The Portland Track Classic continues Sunday as a host of athletes with Washington ties will try to achieve marks on the final day before entries close for the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene.

The start lists for the Portland Track Classic is available here, while the link to live results is available here.

NOTE:  The University of Oregon, Boise State University, Washington State University and the University of Washington contributed to this report.