WSU’s Rosemary Longisa wins 1,500-meter semifinal race, moves on to national final

EUGENE – Washington State star runner Rosemary Longisa is eyeing a national championship after winning the 1,500-meter semifinal race on Thursday during the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

The sophomore from Kenya clocked a time of 4:06.41 to prevail by about two tenths of a second. Longisa, who entered the national prelims as the top qualifier in the country, will compete in the national final at 5:12 p.m. Saturday.

Longisa ran the 1,500 in 4:02.55 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, in April – the best time nationally in the event this season and the second-fastest 1,500 in NCAA women’s history.

Later Thursday, WSU teammate Caroline Jepkorir concluded her season with a 20th-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals, missing the cut for the final by about 23 seconds. The sophomore from Kenya finished with a time of 10:08.78 to earn honorable mention All-America honors.

Idaho’s Constanze Paoli broke her own program record to qualify for the national final in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, placing 10th overall with a time of 9:44.85.

The junior from Germany will compete in the final at 5:24 p.m. Saturday.

Paoli set the UI record in the event last month during the Big Sky Conference Championship, winning the title with a time of 9:50.89.

At the end of the day, Gonzaga senior Rosina Machu placed 11th in the 10,000-meter final, taking home All-America honors in the event for the third straight season.

Machu finished with a time of 32:26.18, her best of the season in the event.

The Boise product is the only woman at the NCAA Championships to have run in the 10,000-meter final in each of the past three seasons. She finished seventh last year with a program record time of 32:15.49.

Machu will conclude her record-breaking GU career when she runs in the 5,000-meter national final at 6:55 p.m. Saturday.