WINONA, Minn. — The event wasn't even finished, but Ashley Dingels' (Gibbon, Minn.) performance during the first day of the heptathlon at the St. John's Multi-Event was impressive enough to earn the Saint Mary's University senior Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week honors.

Dingels solidified a second straight NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships appearance Sunday, breaking the school record in the high jump, clearing 5-7 1/4 at the St. John's Multi-Event to automatically qualify for the national championships.

"It was a great day for Ashley," said SMU coach Kirk Nauman, noting that Dingels entered Monday's final day of the two-day event in second place with 2,903 points, just 17 points behind UW-Stout's Laura Vertgan after four of seven events. "Ashley really came up with a big jump, which propelled her to a really strong showing for a first day."