Laura Thomas was the first female runner, and remains the only woman runner, in the YSU cross country program’s history to compete at the NCAA Championships.
Thomas advanced to the 1997 NCAA Cross Country Championships where she finished 124th with a time of 18 minutes, 16 seconds in the 6K race hosted by Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
The 1997 cross country season was a memorable one for Thomas. Leading up to the then Mid-Continent Conference meet, she won the Buffalo Invitational and the YSU Invitational, placed third at the Mel Brodt Invitational, was fourth at the All-Ohio Championships and seventh at Notre Dame’s Invitational.
All that success carried her to an individual Conference Cross Country Championship with a time of 18:10.8. At the meet hosted by Buffalo, YSU won the team championship – the first of many for the program. Thomas was tabbed the Mid-Con’s Female Cross Country Runner of the Year as well as the Ohio Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Following the league meet, she was third out of 189 runners (18:20) at the Great Lakes Regional, advancing to nationals.
She had many strong performances throughout her career at the Mid-Con Cross Country meet.
In 1996, she was third with a time of 18:05 while the Penguins took second as a team. Her third-place finish qualified her for first-team all-conference status. In 1995, Thomas was 18th at the Mid-Con Championships with a time of 19:42. In 1994, she cracked the top 10, placing eighth with a time of 20:07 to earn second-team all-league honors. YSU placed second as a team.
In track and field, Thomas still holds the school record in the indoor 5,000-meter run (17:25.57), while ranking in the top six in the mile and 3,000 meters. In outdoors, she still is the school-record holder in the 3,000-meter run (10:01.55) and the 10,000-meter run (35:29.01). She also ranks fifth in the 5,000 meters. During her career she established seven school records and won two individual outdoor crowns in 1997.
Thomas earned her degree in Education in 2000 from YSU. She was a double major in Elementary and Special Education.
She is licensed to teach Developmentally and Multiple Handicapped children and is expecting to receive her Master’s Degree from Ashland University in December.
Thomas is a Cognitive Disabled Special Education teacher at Central Crossing High School in Grove City, Ohio.
She has completed three marathons with her career-best performance being a 2 hours and 53 minutes in Huntsville, Ala.
A native of Garfield Heights, she graduated from Garfield High School after competing in three sports.
Laura Kaulen, and her husband, Matt, have two daughters Nicole and Erica. They are expecting a third child in the near future.
