Coleman Sets New Personal Best at NAIA Nationals, Earns Second All-American Award
Randy Dalzell
Yankton, S.D. | Senior triple jumper Brittany Coleman made the most of her last indoor national meet by setting a personal best of 11.87m (38' 11.5") to place 4
th at the NAIA Indoor National Championships at Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota. Coleman came in ranked 7
th and actually tied for third, but was awarded fourth on a tie breaker, which is based on your second best jump, which she lost my 1cm.
The Rundown
"Brittany did a great job of managing her energy and had a great round of preliminary jumps to get into the finals, then hit a personal best in the finals to secure her second All-American award. She came in rated seventh, so to place higher than that is a nice performance and shows that she was well-prepared for this meet" said Head Coach
Randy Dalzell.
Coleman's performance gives her both an indoor and an outdoor NAIA All-American award and sets her up with one more chance to add to those with the upcoming outdoor season.
"I wanted to have a better result than a year ago when I didn't make the final, so I am very happy to have made the podium and gotten another All-American award. I also wanted to break the school record, but I missed that, but I'm content with my performance and excited just to be here. It was also great to have my teammate, Jett, here at the meet. He kept me relaxed and laughing and I was glad to have him here" said Coleman.
Deeper Look
Freshman sprinter Jett Pharn-Cromb was also competing at the meet and did not qualify for the final in the men's 60m. Pharn-Cromb, who had posted numerous personal bests and reset the school record a number of times leading up to this meet, had a difficult time getting out of the blocks, which in a short sprint event ruins your race.
"Jett just wasn't comfortable with his blocks and got a horrible start, which you can't recover from in the 60m sprint, so he did not get through to the final. A number of his previous marks would have been fast enough to get into the final, but his mark in the pre-lims here was not up to that standard. Still, the experience of being at nationals and learning what it's like at nationals will be valuable for him in future meets" said Head Coach
Randy Dalzell.
Flash Forward
The Knights will start their outdoor track season on Saturday, March 20 at the best available venue. The outdoor schedule is still being developed as COVID related issues are still changing the available meets and requirements for each school based on their location and facility. A complete schedule will be posted once that has been sorted out and a clear schedule has been established.
The outdoor season will feature a CCC Conference meet in early May and the NAIA National meet in late May, but all the meets between now and then are still being determined.