FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Official Championship Site
Complete Results
GREENCASTLE, Ind. (Mar. 12, 2010)-- The North Central College women's track & field squad closed out the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships with one All-American on Saturday at Depauw University's James A. Hollensteiner Track, finishing in a tie for 40th in the team standings.
Rachel Secrest finished fourth in the pole vault, earning indoor All-American honors for the third time in her career. The senior passed on opening height before clearing the next two heights on her first attempt. Secrest needed two attempts to clear 12 feet 8 inches, one of just four athletes to clear that height. Secrest opted to pass the next two heights, 12'11 3/4" and 13'2 1/4" as the field was paired down to just one other competitor, Moravian College's Anna Heim. Heim cleared 13'7 3/4" inches on her first try to secure the National Ttle while Secrest was unable to clear the height, placing fourth on the tiebreaker, as Widener University's Abby Schaffer and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Hayley Stuckow each cleared 12'8" on their first try.
"My coach called me over and said, 'you know what you need to do.' Second through eighth your still an All-American so I decided to go for it," said Secrest. "We did what we had to do and I am looking forward to Outdoors."
In the pentathlon,
Melissa Savino placed 12th to close out the meet for the Cardinals, accumulating 3,083 points. Savino recorded 844 of her points in the opening event, the 55-meter hurdles, clocking a 8.67 to start the day in third place. Savino would leap 5'0 1/2" in the long jump, scoring 666 points to slip into fifth. The junior would finish up the day with a throw of 28'6 1/4" in the shot put (444 points), a jump of 16'7" in the long jump (556 points) before closing out the competition with 556 points in the 800-meter run (2:41.44).
Three Cardinals competed on Friday,
Brandye Jackson placed 10th in the 55-meter hurdles (8.41),
Lauren Brightmore placed 12th in the 400-meter dash (57.82) while
Michelle Criscione finished in a tie for 13th in the high jump (5'3 1/4").
North Central finished in a tie for 40th, scoring five points. Wartburg College (Iowa) repeated as National Champions, scoring 33 points while the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh was second with 29 points. Saint Lawrence University (N.Y.) was third (24 points) while College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Illinois Wesleyan University finished in a tie for fourth with the University of Chicago, scoring 21 points.
North Central opens up the outdoor season on April 2, hosting the First Chance Invitational at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
