NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) must have finally got tired of all that provisional qualifying red tape.

Ashley Dingels

Friday afternoon, the Saint Mary's University sophomore left no doubt — she is going to the NCAA Division III National Championships.

And she's going as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference heptathlon champion.

Dingels not only earned an automatic berth in the NCAA championships with her school-record point total of 4,641, but she also broke the conference's 11-year heptathlon record in the process.

A record formerly held by the wife of SMU track and field coach Paul Thornton — SMU Dean of Students Julie Thornton.

"When Paul called and told me that Ashley had won, I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, this is so cool,' " said Julie Thornton, who had set the previous heptathlon record (4,582) during senior year (1992) at St. Olaf. "I had held the record for a long time, and it really was a significant part of my track and field career, but to have Ashley break it — I'm very proud of that."

So is Dingels' coach.

"Ashley had a great, great meet — you could not have asked for a better performance," said Paul Thornton. "We're real excited, Ashley has worked very hard and for her to become the first SMU track and field athlete to hold an MIAC record, that's pretty special."

By clearing 5-5 1/4 — a school record and an NCAA provisional qualifying mark — in the high jump, and adding a time of 15.80 in the 100 high hurdles, a throw of 37-0 1/4 in the shot put, and a time of 26.61 in the 200 during Thursday's first four events of the seven-event competition, Dingels had positioned herself just 25 points behind first-day leader Kim Davis of Carleton.

After Friday's final three events — the long jump, javelin and 800 — it was Dingels who was out front.

"I guess it really hasn't sunk in yet," said Dingels of her record-setting performance — which included Friday's title-clinching efforts of 4.78 meters in the long jump, 29.60 meters in the javelin, and 2:23.30 in the 800. "I was pretty excited (about the conference record), especially because it was Julie's record — and she's helped coach me so much this year, it makes it that much more special."

And it leaves coach Thornton left to ponder one question: Was it better to be married to the conference heptathlon record-holder, or to be the coach of the conference heptathlon record-holder?

"All I know is, Julie has been an incredible ambassador for the heptathlon in the MIAC for the past 11 years," coach Thornton said. "Hopefully Ashley can continue to carry on that tradition for a long time to come."