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DELAWARE, Ohio (May 22, 2014) - The North Central College women's track and field team claimed one All-America plaque and closed the day on pace for another on Thursday at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, as five of the Cardinals' eight qualifiers competed at Ohio Wesleyan University's Selby Stadium.

The Cardinals picked up the eighth outdoor All-America honor in the history of the program in the pole vault, as Brooke Patterson cleared a personal-best height of 12 feet, 3 1/2 inches to claim sixth place in the 22-woman field.

"(Being an All-American) was my goal this year, so it feels really great," Patterson said. "I've been consistent all season, I was just waiting on the PR, so it felt good to get it today."

Patterson sailed over the opening height of 11'3 3/4" on her first attempt, but needed all three attempts to clear the next height (11'9 3/4") to stay in contention.

"I definitely had to make some adjustments," she said. "It was more standards-wise. I stayed on the same pole. I just had to do what I've been doing all season."

Patterson tied her personal best by clearing 12'1 1/2" on her first attempt, then made it over 12'3 1/2" on her second attempt to secure her spot on the awards stand. She bowed out of the competition after three unsuccessful attempts at 12'5 1/2".

"I tried to get on a bigger pole for the first two attempts (at 12'5 1/2"), that I had never been on before," she said. "That was a big change. Coming off a PR, I was super-excited, so it was kind of hard to come back and focus."

A first-time outdoor national qualifier, Patterson leaned on the experience gained from her participation at the Division III Indoor Championships in March to prepare for Thursday's effort.

"I think it really helped because I knew what to expect and I knew what I really wanted from not making All-American then," she said. "So I really pushed for this one."

Also sitting sixth on Thursday is Jocelyn Redlinski in the heptathlon. With three events remaining on Friday, she has a total of 2,967 points in her quest for her first All-America honors in the event.

Redlinski opened the day with a personal-best time of 14.45 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, which matched the fastest time in the field. She then cleared 5'3" in the high jump and posted a mark of 31'6" in the shot put before closing the day with a personal-record time of 25.83 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

Her point total following the first day is 46 points better than she posted in last year's outdoor championships and 121 better than her first day in the 2013 Gregory Invitational, when she set the current school record of 4,566 points.

The Cardinals' Nora Ferguson summoned a strong final sprint to secure a fourth-place finish in her qualifying heat of the 1,500-meter run. Finishing in four minutes, 37.01 seconds, Ferguson earned an automatic berth in the 1,500-meter final to take place on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Lina Baker narrowly missed out on the finals of the hammer throw, as her third and final effort in the preliminaries landed at 170'9", just under two feet short of the last spot in the finals. Baker wound up 10th overall. 

Also competing in the pole vault on Thursday was Elizabeth Composto, who did not clear a height in the competition.

North Central resumes competition on Friday, as Redlinski takes part in the heptathlon long jump at 1:00 p.m., with the javelin throw and 800-meter run to take place later in the day. Ebony Stallworth competes in the shot put at 5:15, Redlinski and Madison Renfro compete in the 100-meter hurdles at 6:30 and Miranda Rorer takes to the track in the 100-meter dash trials at 7:30.