By Arnie Graff
At the end of the NCAA women?s indoor track and field championships, every Cougar in competition walked away an All-American.
The seven women represented their school well, earning 11 points and finishing No. 19 in the nation.
Seven of the 11 points, however, came from the jumpers Kamila Rywelska and Lindsey Metcalf, who both displayed brilliant jumps in their respective events.
Rywelska, the Polish performer, earned a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet, 6 inches.
?She (Rywelska) was nervous, but she came in ranked eighth and finished sixth,? women?s head coach Craig Poole said. ?She did great.?
Metcalf also performed great.
The sophomore leaper earned her second consecutive fifth-place finish at nationals with a high jump mark of five feet, 11.25 inches.
?I did a good job today,? Metcalf said. ?I came in ranked seventh and went out fifth. Ultimately, this was the best national meet that I have competed in.?
Another busy Cougar was team leader Michaela Mannova, who competed in both the 3,000-meters and anchored the Distance Medley Relay team.
During the DMR on Friday, Mannova ran the mile in four minutes and 37 seconds, helping the team finish fifth with a time of 11:12.60.
The time was the fastest of the year for the senior from the Czech Republic, and helped fellow speedsters Kassie Andersen, Julie Cameron and Jennifer Rockwell receive All-American citations.
?They (the DMR team) ran about six seconds off their qualifying time,? distance coach Patrick Shane said. ?We wouldn?t have been able to do it without Michaela?s mile time.?
Mannova also brought home a point in the 3,000 by placing ninth, while Andersen nipped at her heals in twelfth.
Another Cougar who saved the best for last was senior Laura Turner.
Although she had been feeling sick all week, the All-American finished strong in the 5,000-meters with the second fastest time of her life.
Her time of 16:13.80, which placed her ninth nationally, made the last indoor championships of her collegiate career very memorable.
?I truly gave it my all, Turner said. ?I am happy and feel privileged to add another All-American to my name.?
