Jorgensen Wins Conference, Qualifies for NCAA Champs

Oliver Jorgensen will make history when he competes for SFU at the NCAA Division 2 National Championships as he becomes his school’s first male track and field athlete to do so.

Jorgensen, a freshman, won the conference championship in the 3-k steeplechase last week with a time of 9:17.20.

In the race, Alaska Anchorage’s Micah Chelimo, who is the top ranked runner in the 5k and 10k in NCAA Division II, crashed in the water jump and Jorgensen took advantage of that.

With three other runners between Jorgensen and first place, the Clan freshman took the lead with three laps to go and then held off charges by runners from both Western Washington and Western Oregon universities.

Previously Jorgensen had turned in a time of 9:09.38 at the Mount Sac Relays, a performance that places him second in the Canadian Men’s Junior rankings for the steeplechase.

“I’m really proud to make nationals as a freshman,” said Jorgensen. “I barely missed qualifying individually in cross country and my goal has been to qualify in outdoor track so it’s a good way to end it. The transition into SFU couldn’t have gone any better. It was smooth and I’ve matured as a person and an athlete. At the championship, my goal is to make the final and hopefully earn All-American status. I look forward to representing the Clan with Sarah at the championship and working to improve over the next few years.”