Complete heptathlon results (PDF)
Complete 800-meter results (PDF)
PUEBLO, Colo. – Color her bronze.
After starting the day in fifth place,
Ali Worthen put together three strong performances – one of them a personal best – and moved up to claim the women's heptathlon bronze medal at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
The Seattle Pacific senior finished with 5,297 points – also a career-best mark. Defending champion and pre-meet favorite Lindsay Lettow of Central Missouri won easily, as expected, with 5,748 points, the third-highest total in meet history. Teammate Erin Alewine was second with 5,371. Cheryl Bourne of Ashland (Ohio), also in the medal hunt going into the final event, wound up fourth with 5,237.
“I'm just ecstatic. I wanted top-3, and I knew what I had to do,” said Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.). “I'm so happy to know now that it's done.”
Added Falcons head coach
Karl Lerum, “She did a great job every single event – she was right at a level she could compete at. She didn't have any big letdowns in this competition. She kept her mental focus for two days, and that's not an easy task in the multis.”
Worthen, the two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, came into Friday's final three events at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl with 3,177 points, leaving her 62 points out of third place.
She uncorked a long jump of 18 feet, 8½ inches, her second-farthest of the season to place fourth. That was worth 759 points and moved Worthen into fourth place overall, although she now was 95 points out of third because Bourne, one of the women ahead of Worthen after the first four events on Thursday, went even farther at 19-0¾ for 792 points.
“I feel like I just had that one coming,” Worthen said. “I have really good aspects of the long jump, but I haven't been able to put it together and get my timing down. Today on my second jump (the 18-8 ½), I did that. I had a lot of spring in my step today and put it together.”
Worthen then threw the javelin a career-best 116 feet even, nearly three feet farther than her previous PR of 113-1 at the GNAC Multi-Event Championships on May 1 in Ellensburg. That was far enough for fifth place and added 579 points to her total, giving her 4,515.
With just the 800 meters still on the schedule, Lettow was way in front with 4,900 points, but three competitors were bunched in the 4500s for silver, bronze and fourth: Bourne at 4,567; Alewine at 4,548; and Worthen at 4,515. Alewine had run a sub-2:20 in the 800 earlier this year; Worthen's best was 2:22.04; while Bourne's fastest was 2:28.53.
If the difference between Worthen and Bourne held up, it would be enough to wipe out Bourne's 52-point advantage and push Worthen over the hump and onto the awards podium.
It did. While Lettow (2:18.12) and Alewine (2:20.07) were 1-2, Worthen ran fifth in 2:23.12, giving her 782 points and her 5,297 total. Bourne was ninth in 2:31.81, picking up just 670 for her 5,237.
“I knew when I was throwing the jav that it put me in a place to get the third that I wanted,” Worthen said. “I was going to have to run fast so (Bourne) was far enough behind me for me to move up. I knew what I had to do.”
Lerum felt the tight battle for the last two medals ultimately would play to Worthen's advantage – and it did.
“With a lot of people bunched around each other and obviously a lot of quality, if Ali just focused on her own goals and the things she could control, the points would work out for her,” Lerum said.
Worthen's finish made her an All-American for the fourth time in her career – twice outdoors, twice indoors. Last year, she finished sixth in the hep at Turlock, Calif., with 5,044 points. In February, she took sixth in the indoor pentathlon, and finished fourth in the indoor high jump as a freshman in 2009.
Worthen isn't finished yet. She'll compete in the individual high jump on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. PDT.
Also on Saturday, senior
Brittany Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) will take her No. 1 ranking into the javelin competition at 12:50 p.m.
NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Championships
Friday, May 25, 2012
Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl / Pueblo, Colo.
HEPTATHLON
Final standings – 1, Lindsay Lettow (C. Missouri) 5,748; 2, Erin Alewine (C. Missouri) 5,371;
3, Ali Worthen (SPU) 5,297; 4, Cheryl Bourne (Ashland) 5,237; 5, Morgan Shelton (W. Texas A&M) 5,169; 6, Zoe Sharplin (C. Missouri) 5,026; 7, Kelsea Johnson (UAA) 4,927; 8, Tuekeha Huntley (Cal State LA) 4,915; 9, Jena Isaacson (Neb-Kearney) 4,820; 10, Lisa Vengels (Missouri Southern) 4,760; 11, Lynzi Daughenbaugh (Tiffin) 4,725; 12, Shakeisha Miller (Lincoln-Mo.) 4,637; 13, Macy Caldwell (Ashland) 4,613; 14, Cathryn Rittenberry (Angelo State) 4,568; 15, Cassie Brooks (Abilene Christian) 4,377; Paige Pollard (Wayne St.-Neb) DNF.
Friday's events
Long jump – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 19-4 ¾ / 5.91m (822 points). SPU placer – 4, Worthen 18-8 ½ / 5.70m (759).
Javelin – 1, Shelton (W. Texas A&M) 125-9 / 38.33m (635 points). SPU placer – 5, Worthen 116-0 / 35.36m (579 points).
800 – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 2:18.20 (845 points). SPU placer – 5, Worthen 2:23.12 (782).
Thursday's events
100 hurdles – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 13.69 (1,023 points). SPU placer – 8, Worthen 14.28 (939).
High jump – 1, Alewine (C. Missouri) 5-10 / 1.78m (953 points). SPU placer – 4, Worthen 5-6 ½ / 1.69m (842).
Shot put – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 39-2 ¼ / 11.94m (657 points). SPU placer – 9, Worthen 33-9 ¼ / 10.29m (548).
200 – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 24.80 (905 points). SPU placer – 3, Worthen 25.43 (848).
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Championships
Friday, May 25, 2012
Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl / Pueblo, Colo.
800 preliminaries (top 9 to finals) – 1, Boris Berian (Adams State) 1:50.87.
SPU placer: 14, Nate Seely 1:56.99.
