Njoku Wins National Championship In The High Jump
Results
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 14, 2015) –Junior
Gladys Njoku of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's indoor track and field team won first place in the high jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships on Saturday.
The Cedar Grove, N.J. native recorded a height of 1.72-meters and became the first person in Stevens indoor track and field history to take home a national championship. In the process, she became an All-American for the second time in her career after claiming honors last year at the Indoor Championships. Her and senior Taylor Hudson from SUNY-Cortland each reached the height of 1.72-meters, but because Hudson had faulted on a previous attempt, Njoku was the victor.
Last year she finished second place reaching a height of 1.75-meters before falling in a dramatic jump-off to Ashlee Ward of Misericordia. During the 2015 season, she set a school-record jump of 1.80-m which is .3 centimeters off of the all-time record. It is also the fourth best height ever recorded in Division III. She has also won six of the last eight high jump competitions and is undefeated against DIII competitors this year.
Stevens junior
Amy Regan claimed All-American status after finishing second in the 5,000-meter and fourth in the 3,000 at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships this weekend.
She placed second out of 16 other competitors in the 5,000 and led for almost three quarters of the race. Towards the end of the race, Regan, senior Lucy Cheadle of Washington University in St. Louis and Sophie Meehan of Johns Hopkins went nearly stride for stride with one another. There was some controversy, as after Cheadle and Regan separated, the bell rung prematurely and Cheadle thought she had claimed first place, but was one lap short of the full 5,000. Officials deliberated into Saturday morning, where it was announced that Cheadle would be declared the winner.
Statement from the NCAA
"The lap counter official rang the bell too early creating a lot of confusion for the runners. Due to the uncertainty of finish times/places at the end of the event, the referee determined that they would place at 4,800-meters. No times were given."
Last year Regan had a time of 16:51.36. For the second consecutive year she took home All-American honors in both the 5,000-meter and the 3,000-meter.
In the 3.000, she finished with a time of 9:50.71, about four seconds behind sophomore Maryann Gong of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Regan put herself in great position throughout the race, and in the last third she was still in tight with the leaders. Her last 1,000 timed in 3:10 while her final 400 clocked in at an impressive 1:13.
Ithaca senior
Emilia Scheemaker earned her second straight All-America honor with an eighth place finish in the triple jump.
Scheemaker posted a distance of 11.62 mmeters (38 feet, 1.5 inches) to finish within the top eight by two inches. She met her best mark during the second attempt after a leap of 11.55 meters in the first try. After a foul, Scheemaker measured out 11.26 meters and 11.32 meters before a foul on her final attempt. Only three inches separated Scheemaker from taking seventh place.
Utica junior
Sarah Wiatr placed 13
th Saturday in the triple jump. Wiatr recorded her best leap of the day in her third jump with a distance of 11.25 meters. The third year standout registered a jump of 11.02 meters in her first leap followed by a soar of 11.18 in her second before clearing her best of the day in her third and final (11.25 meters).
Ithaca sophomore
Natalie Meyer just missed becoming Ithaca's third All-American in the high jump this morning.
Meyer, who finished 14th last year at nationals, placed ninth of 17 competitors on Saturday in the high jump with a mark of 1.65 meters. She was tied with seven other entries in the event, but came in ninth overall due to number of attempts.
At 1.55 meters, Meyer cleared the bar on her second try and then passed 1.60 meters on her first attempt. She was then successful at 1.65 on the second attempt. Meyer could not clear 1.69 meters.
The eighth place finisher made it past 1.65 meters in four attempts, while a three-way tie for fifth all surpassed 1.65 in two or three tries.