Brie Oakley reacts after running 15:53 to win the Woodbridge XC Classic Sweepstakes.
Brie Oakley of Grandview High School in Colorado announced her verbal commitment to UC Berkeley via Twitter on Monday night.
The senior chose the Bears over the University of Colorado.
Oakley rose to No. 1 in the Saucony Flo50 National XC Rankings after two record-setting runs to open her season: she ran 16:44 at the Liberty Bell Invitational to break the course record by 16 seconds [the prior record was held by Jordyn Colter, now of Cal!], then ran 15:53.6 to win the Woodbridge XC Classic Sweepstakes in a new meet record.
The 2016 cross country season marks Oakley's first full year of distance training. She is a former soccer player who joined her high school cross country team last fall and quickly rose to the nation's most elite ranks. She was runner-up to Lauren Gregory at the Colorado state meet, then qualified for NXN and placed 26th in Portland. In the spring, she swept the 1600m and 3200m, then placed third at the Brooks PR two mile with a breakthrough effort of 10:08.89.
Also pictured in Oakley's announcement tweet are fellow Class of 2017 prospective recruits Julia Heymach of Texas and Sophie Cantine of Washington, neither of whom have announced their decision yet.
Stay tuned to MileSplit for more recruiting news and updates!
