Pentathlon results (PDF)
        800-meter results (PDF)
        Complete final results, with teams scores (PDF)
        Complete men's final results with team scores (PDF) 

MANKATO, Minn. – Different races. Same distance.
 
Same successful results for Ali Worthen and McKayla Fricker.

Worthen closed with a career-best time in the 800-meter run, helping her lock up an All-American sixth-place finish with 3,763 points – also a career best -- in the women's pentathlon on Saturday at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
A couple hours later, Seattle Pacific teammate Fricker delivered a PR of her own in the individual 800 title race. Using what has become a trademark late kick, Fricker moved from last place all the way up to fifth, securing All-American status in 2 minutes, 11.69 seconds.
 
The performances by senior Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) and sophomore Fricker (Canby, Ore.) capped the weekend for the Falcons at the nationals in Minnesota State Mankato University's Myers Field House.
 
“McKayla is such a good racer and so mature,” SPU head coach Karl Lerum said. “Most times at their first nationals, kids can be a little touch-and-go, but she came in pretty confident. She kept contact with the whole group the whole way. She made that big move, just waits her turn, and closes well.
 
“I know Ali was a little disappointed, but it was a great effort,” Lerum said of Worthen's pentathlon performance. “She really worked through not hitting the marks she wanted, just kept going, and she ran a good, gutsy 800.”
 
In terms of running a gutsy 800, Fricker did likewise. She was in the back of the nine-woman pack almost from the first few strides, and stayed there through the first three-plus laps of the four-lap race on the 200-meter oval. About 50 meters into the bell lap, Fricker started passing people, eventually leaving four of them behind her on the way to the finish line. Amanda Putt of Hillsdale (Mich.) was the come-from-behind winner in 2:09.15.
 
Fricker's time was nearly a full second faster than her previous PR of 2:12.67, set just two weeks ago in the SPU Last Chance meet when she effectively clinched a trip to Mankato. It also was 2 ½ seconds faster than the 2:14.17 she ran in winning her preliminary heat on Friday and earning the No. 6 seed for Saturday's finals.
 
“It definitely was tougher than yesterday,” Fricker said. “My legs were a little tired. I had a feeling that if I had (made my move) at 400, I wouldn't have been able to hold it. I got cut off a couple times, and a few nagging things happened. (But) my time was pretty awesome. I just tried to focus on having fun and making my goals and doing what I know how to do.”
 
Worthen finished her five pentathlon events with 3,763 points. That bettered her previous career high of 3,729, which she set on Jan. 27 at the UW Invitational in Seattle.
 
Falcons junior Katy Gross (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) wound up 13^th with 3,071 points. Gross was added to the competition on Wednesday as the result of a late scratch by a competitor who already had been entered into the meet.
 
Worthen improved her pre-meet standing by one position. She did it in part by saving her best performance of the day for last, when she finished the 800 in 2:22.84, good for 785 points and third place in that event. Her time was more than a full second better than her previous best of 2:24.41, which she recorded in the UW Invite.
 
“I'm happy to have gotten All-American and sixth place. All of that said, my goals were a little bit higher,” Worthen said. “I felt really good this morning, and I didn't have anything inhibiting me. It was just the wrong day, unfortunately, and I really wasn't making any of my marks.
 
“That's what the best part is about running the 800 at the end of the meet,” Worthen added. “You can take all the technique out of it and just run with passion and anger and competitiveness. It's good to end with the 800.”
 
Defending champion Lindsay Lettow of Central Missouri won with a meet-record 4,193 points. That was 129 more than her previous record of 4,064, which she set last year when she became the first competitor to break the 4,000-point barrier. In fact, the top three finishers all topped 4,000 on Saturday.
 
“That was unbelievable,” Lerum said. “It'll be interesting to see how those marks stack up with the Division I marks.”
 
In addition, Worthen had a fifth-place finish in the high jump (5-5 ¾), was eighth in the shot put (34-1 ¼), ninth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.93 seconds) and ninth in the long jump (17-9 ¾).

Gross' top finish of the day was 10^th in the shot put at 33-8 ¾. She tied for 10^th in the high jump (5-1), was 12^th in the long jump (16-6), 12^th in the 800 (2:49.19) and 13^th in the 60 hurdles (9.51).
 
SPU's final remaining competitor is sophomore McKayla Fricker (Canby, Ore.) She is the No. 6 seed for the 800-meter finals, which are scheduled for this afternoon at 3 Pacific time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Indoor Championships
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Myers Field House / Mankato, Minn.
 
Pentathlon
Final standings – 1, Lindsay Lettow (C. Missouri) 4,193; 2, Erin Alewine (C. Missouri) 4,134; 3, Chrystal Ruiz (Angelo State) 4,008; 4, Cheryl Bourne (Ashland) 3,881; 5, Tuekeha Huntley (Cal State L.A.) 3,787; 6, Ali Worthen (SPU) 3,763; 7, Jena Isaacson (Neb-Kearney) 3,663; 8, Lynzi Daughenbaugh (Tiffin) 3,587; 9, Kendra Bassitt (Ashland) 3,513; 10, Ann-Marie Duffus (Grand Canyon) 3,465; 11, Zoe Sharplin (C. Missouri) 3,416; 12, Megan Marchildon (Lewis) 3,339; 13, Katy Gross (SPU) 3,071.
60 hurdles – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 8.51 (1,015 points). SPU placers – 9, Worthen 8.93 (925); 13, Gross 9.51 (806).
High jump – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 5-10 ½ / 1.79m (966). SPU placers – 5, Worthen 5-5 ¾ / 1.67m (818); T10, Gross 5-1 / 1.55m (678).
Shot put – 1, Sharplin (C. Missouri) 40-6 ¼ / 12.35m (684). SPU placers – 8, Worthen 34-1 ¼ / 10.39m (555); 10, Gross 33-8 ¾ / 10.28m (548).
Long jump – 1, Duffus (Gr. Canyon) 19-9 ¾ / 6.04m (862). SPU placers – 9, Worthen 17-9 ¾ / 5.43m (680); 12, Gross 16-6 / 5.03m (567).
800 – 1, Ruiz (Angelo State) 2:21.09 (809). SPU placers – 3, Worthen 2:22.84 (785); 12, Gross 2:49.19 (472).

FINALS         
800 – 1, Amanda Putt (Hillsdale) 2:09.15. SPU placer – 5, McKayla Fricker 2:11.69.