All-American Katie Rainsberger confirms transfer to Washington...

With two weeks remaining before members of the University of Washington cross country team reports to Seattle to begin preparation for the 2018 season, Katie Rainsberger (left/photo by Paul Merca) confirmed on her social media account that she indeed is transferring to the UW.

Rainsberger was one of the country’s most decorated high schoolers at Air Academy HS in Colorado before enrolling at the University of Oregon in the fall of 2016.

She was fourth at the NCAA cross country championship as a freshman to lead the Ducks to the national championship. She went on to an All-American season on the track in 2017, finishing third in the 3,000 at the NCAA indoor championships, and fourth in the 1,500 at the NCAA outdoors that season.

Rainsberger, the daughter of former Redmond resident and world class marathoner Lisa (Larsen) Rainsberger, had injury issues that limited her during the 2018 outdoor track season. Despite the setback, she finished fifth in the 1500m at the Pac-12s at Stanford in May.

It is expected that her Oregon teammate, Lilli Burdon, who helped the Ducks win the national title indoors in the distance medley relay, and was third in the 5000 at the outdoor championships, will join Rainsberger.  Both had asked for and were granted their release from the University of Oregon earlier in the month, along with Tanner Anderson & Mick Stanovsek.

There are also reports from several sources in the local track & field community that another high-profile transfer may come to Washington in the form of two-time NCAA outdoor pole vault champ Olivia Gruver from Kentucky.

Gruver won the 2017 and 2018 NCAA outdoor titles for the Wildcats under the tutelage of new Washington vault coach and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson. She also owns two SEC vault titles, and placed third twice at the NCAA indoor championships.