Aug. 20, 2010 CORVALLIS, Ore. - Former Oregon State cross country and track assistant coach Lauren Denfeld and volunteer assistant coach Meredith Crane have accepted cross country and track assistant coaching positions at the University of Washington and the University of Mississippi respectively. "All of us in the program are very excited for both Meredith and Lauren as they continue to move forward in the coaching careers," Sullivan Said. "For me personally, what I am the most pleased and excited about is they are both going to be working for two outstanding head coaches and friends of mine in Joe Walker at Ole Miss and Greg Metcalf at the University of Washington." Denfeld was an assistant coach with the Beavers following an illustrious career as a distance runner and graduated holding several track records. She spent one year under Oregon State head cross country and track head coach Kelly Sullivan. A native of Bend, Oregon, Denfeld was one of the original members of the Oregon State women's track and cross country program when it was reinstated in 2004. She became just the second runner in the modern era of OSU track to qualify for the NCAA West Regional Championships, where she ran in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2007 and 2008. Last season with Denfeld on staff, the OSU women's cross country squad finished ninth at the West Regional Championships, matching the program's best finish since reinstatement. Four Beavers advanced to the NCAA Preliminary Rounds on the track as well. Denfeld will primarily work with the UW distance runners, in conjunction with Washington head coach Greg Metcalf and assistant coach Jason Drake. Meredith Crane has been hired as an assistant cross country and track coach at Ole Miss under head coach Joe Walker. Her primary emphasis will be coaching the Rebels' distance runners and serving as assistant recruiting coordinator. After a few years of coaching at the high school level, Crane spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach at Oregon State. While there, she saw multiple school records broken, two of which were by Sandra Martinez, who Crane also coached to school records and top state finishes while at her alma mater, Davis High School in Yakima, Wash. "I've grown to really enjoy seeing so many of our volunteer and assistant coaches here at Oregon State get opportunities to move on and work under so many outstanding head coaches and these two truly have hit a home run where they have landed for sure," Sullivan Said. Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. You can make an "Everyday Champion" Follow Beaver Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.