RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – U.S. Women’s Field Hockey Team defender and two-time Olympian, Bucks County’s own Lauren Crandall is preparing to make her third appearance in the Summer Games, kicking off August 5 in Rio de Janeiro.
She also captained Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. From Doylestown, Crandall, 31, holds the distinction of being Central Bucks East’s first Olympic athlete.
Crandall became a permanent fixture on the US National Team roster in 2005. Eight years later, she earned her 200th cap with Team USA during a Four Nations tournament in New Zealand. Crandall is one of only two current members of the squad with well over 200 international appearances, the other being former North Carolina standout Rachel Dawson, who reached the mark on March 7, 2013.
The U.S. begins preliminary round play 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon with a battle against Argentina.
The 2003 graduate of CB East who helped lead the Lady Patriots capture a PIAA state title in 2002, Crandall is a 2007 Wake Forest University graduate who helped lead the Demon Deacons to a pair of NCAA national championships in 2003 and 2004.
The roots of Crandall’s international success go back to 1999 when she began her high school athletic career on the home fields of CB East. Lauren excelled at both field hockey and soccer for the Lady Patriots from 1999 to 2003. She earned seven varsity letters in those respective sports.
read more at buckslocalnews.com