Greencastle, IN--Nine Williams women competed in four individual events and two relays on Friday and Saturday at the Division III NCAA Championships hosted by DePauw University. The Ephs finished 12th overall, earning All-American honors in 5 events.
In the preliminary round of the 400m dash, Hillary Higgs ’12 ran a personal best of 56.97 and qualified for finals, where she finished 6th and nabbed All-American honors.
Senior co-captain Elise Johnson also bettered her previous personal best (as well as her third-place seed), running 8.09 in the finals of the 55m hurdles, good for 2nd place. Johnson will enter the outdoor season a two-time All American, and if the spring bodes well, she has the chance to graduate with three titles under her belt.
The 4x400m relay, consisting of Johnson, Higgs, Rebecca Fine ’13, and anchored by senior co-captain Nora Mitchell, ran just quick enough to place out of their heat and earn an All-American 8th place with a time of 3:57.73.
The Distance Medley Relay also finished 8th. Ariel Williams ’10, Mitchell, Lizzy Danhakl ’11, and Olga Kondratjeva ’10 finished just behind Middlebury, with a time of 12:02.35.
In the field events, Tanasia Hoffler ’13 took 5th place in the finals of the triple jump, clearing 11.53m and earning her first All-American title. First-year Julie Paschal just missed All-American honors in the high jump, as she took 9th place and cleared 1.66m. After an outstanding first collegiate season, these two freshmen have demonstrated their potential for the coming seasons and they will gear up for outdoor in hopes of making it to NCAAs once again in May.
