BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University Assistant Track & Field and Cross Country Assistant Coach Kennedy Rufener is making a run at the Olympic Games.
 
Rufener earned the "B' standard for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials by running a time of 2:44:17 at the California International Marathon on Dec. 8 in Sacramento, California. The time just ducked under the standard of 2 hours, 45 minutes, and is one of approximately 500 athletes nationwide who have met the standard.
 
Rufener placed 476th overall in the race and was 56th place among all females. She also placed fifth in the marathon's female 20-24 age group. A total of 7,502 competitors, including 3,273 women, competed in the marathon.
 
With the qualifying time in her first attempt at a marathon, Rufener is eligible to compete in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, which take place on February 29, 2020 in Atlanta.
 
"I'm really happy with my result in the marathon. I've never ran one before, and it was a completely different experience than I was used too, so the goal was to sit with the pace group and to make sure I didn't mess up because I knew this was my one shot at hitting the trials qualifying time for 2020," said Rufener. "I ended up leaving the group much earlier than intended on doing, but stayed conservative and it paid off. I'm taking a bit of down time before I start my buildup for the trials and the goal will be to knock off some time and run a solid PR."
 
Rufener had a standout collegiate career at Western Oregon University and Western Colorado University. She was the 2018 GNAC champion indoors in the 5,000 meters and earned NCAA Division II All-America honors outdoors in the 10,000 meters with her fourth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships. She also earned Second Team All-America honors with an 11th-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships.
 
After completing her career at Western Oregon, Rufener competed as a graduate transfer in cross country at Western Colorado, where she placed 17th at the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships to earn another All-America award.
 
Rufener joined the WWU staff as an assistant cross country and track and field coach in September, where she helped coach the Vikings to a pair of GNAC team championships during the cross country season.