Hall of Fame
Desiraye Osburn earned four All-America honors during her career at Wichita State — three in track and field and one in cross country — while establishing herself as one of the most decorated distance runners in Missouri Valley Conference history. She set MVC all-time records in four indoor and outdoor events and received multiple outstanding performer awards.
As a senior, she won the Midwest Regional cross country championship, a first for the Shocker program, and claimed the MVC cross country individual title, earning Valley Cross Country Athlete of the Year. During the indoor season that year, she was voted Most Outstanding Track Athlete and Most Valuable Performer after winning titles in the 5,000 meters, 3,000 meters, and mile — setting MVC and WSU records in the 3,000 meters and mile. She qualified to the NCAA Indoor Championship in both the 3,000 meters and mile, placing 14th and eighth, respectively, earning All-America recognition in the mile. At the MVC Outdoor Championship, she won the 5,000 and 1,500 meters, again setting conference and school records in both events. She also earned Midwest Regional individual championships in those two events and finished fourth at the NCAA Championship in the 5,000 meters, earning All-America status.
In her junior season, she won the MVC indoor mile title and finished runner-up in the 3,000 meters, then won the outdoor 1,500 meters, placed second in the 800 meters, and earned All-America honors with a seventh-place finish at NCAAs in the 5,000 meters. As a sophomore, she posted top-three finishes in the mile (indoor) and both the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters (outdoor). She also earned the Greater Wichita Sports Commission’s College Female Athlete of the Year award following her senior season.
After completing her collegiate career, Osburn was sponsored by New Balance and represented Team USA four times in cross country and track. She was inducted into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. She is married to Paul Speer, a former WSU track decathlete. The couple resides in Wichita, where Desiraye works as a full-time realtor, coaches their three sons in mid-distance and distance events and recently completed her first season as Head Cross Country Coach at Circle Middle School.