SALEM, Ore. -- It has already been an outstanding athletic year for Olivia Mancl (So./Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette University. In cross country, she placed second in the Northwest Conference, was third at the West Regional and placed 48th at the NCAA Championships. This spring, she won the NWC title in the 1,500-meter run.

Her efforts in cross country helped Willamette win NWC and West Region team titles. She was WU's top finisher at the NCAA Championships, placing 35th among scorers, which helped the Bearcats take 15th in the team standings.

After winning the NWC title in the 1,500, Mancl competed at the OSU High Performance Meet, where she lowered her personal record to 4:34.64. At the time she was ranked 13th in NCAA Division III in the 1,500. Over the next couple of weeks, Mancl dropped to 28th on the national performance list.

At the Gregory Invitational, hosted by North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, on May 15, Mancl responded by lowering her personal record by 2.52 seconds to 4:32.12. She advanced 14 spots on the performance list, and enters this week's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships ranked 14th in the 1,500. Mancl is fourth on Willamette's all-time list.

Preliminary heats of the 1,500 are on Thursday, May 21 and are set to begin at 3:45 p.m. EDT/12:45 p.m. PDT. The final is scheduled for Saturday, May 23 at 1:30 p.m. EDT/10:30 a.m. PDT.

This will be Mancl's third time participating in a national championship. Her first national experience came as a freshman at the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She placed 80th in the nation and contributed to the Bearcats finishing 12th in the team standings.

Mancl is making her first trip to the NCAA Championships in track and field, after missing the 2014 track season due to injury. She has recovered in a big way, with great success during the cross country season, followed by continued success this spring. The NCAA Championships provide a fitting end to a tremendous year.