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CHAMPIONSHIPS Fri.-Sat., May 26-27 Lisle, Ill. Host: Benedictine U. |
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Mason kicks off NCAAs in style with All-American effort in high jump
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Megan
Mason All-American in high jump with 5th-place finish |
Just how high did the Cardinal senior set the bar Friday afternoon?
How about 5-feet-7 — and All-American status.
Competing in her second NCAA national championships, Mason cleared 5-7 on her third jump to place fifth in the high jump — and become SMU's second-ever Division III track and field All-American.
"It was a great day for Megan," said SMU coach Kirk Nauman of his senior high jumper, who placed ninth in the NCAA Indoor National Championships in March. "We were hoping that maybe she'd be able to crack the top eight … to get fifth is really outstanding."
Mason's season-best leap of 5-7 left her tied with three other athletes and was actually the second-best effort of the competition, second only to Trinity's Christyn Schumann's national championship-winning effort of 5-9 1/4. With six misses during her first four heights, however, Mason had to settle for fifth behind Schumann, Kristin Moss of Williams, Jennifer Harlow of Wheaton and Kapricia Poulos of Millikin.
"This was a great way for Megan to close out her collegiate career," said Nauman. "To go 5-7 — her career-best — at the national meet, it doesn't get much better than that."
Mason's teammates, Amanda Weinmann (Rochester, Minn.) and Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.), will take to the nation's brightest stage on Saturday, with Weinmann competing in the shot put, while Luehmann will take part in both the shot put and the javelin.