Hockinson alum Sarah Crouch going into Western Washington athletic’s hall of fame

Former Western Washington runner Sarah (Porter) Crouch is among the four WWU athletes to make up the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which was announced Thursday.

Crouch, a Hockinson High alum, was a 13-time All-American in track and cross country, winning the 10,000 meters at the 2011 NCAA Division II nationals in school, meet and stadium record time.

The induction ceremony will be Saturday, May 18 at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU Campus in Bellingham.

Crouch, who held seven school records when she graduated, competed at the NCAA D-II national championships all four years in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track — making 12 total appearances at nationals.

“To have someone come into your program and right away make a big difference and then to see her do things we’re never had done before and become a team player as well was very special,” said her coach Pee Wee Halsell, who directed the program for 36 years.

“Her best trait was her willingness to put in the hard work. She was very focused and to witness her accomplishments, that was fun to watch. And it was

In 2011, she won the 10,000 meters at the NCAA D-II nationals in a meet record time of 33:17.39, a personal best by 19 seconds. The clocking was the fourth-fastest in NCAA D-II history, just 12 seconds off the all-time NCAA II standard of 33:05.80 set in 1987.

After college, Crouch ranked among the top women marathon runners in the country.

She placed 11th (2:37.36, second among U.S. runners) at the 2016 Boston Marathon, and in the Chicago Marathon was sixth in both 2014 (2:32.44, 3rd U.S.) and 2018 (personal best 2:32.37, 1st U.S.), and ninth in 2016 (2:33.48, 2nd U.S.).

Crouch, 33, is a mother of two daughters and writing her first novel, “Middletide,” scheduled for release by Simon and Schuster in June.