Meet Website Here: USATF Jr. Nationals
Results of the triple jump can be found here: Triple Jump Results
Results of the 5000m can be found here: 5000m Results
DES MOINES, IA -- Eph first year All-Americans Jennifer Gossels (Sudbury, MA) and Tanasia Hoffler (New Haven, CT) both posted top 10 finishes at the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships this past weekend at Drake University.
Gossels, who was an All-American in the 10,000 at the NCAA
Division III Outdoor Women’s Championships in May running a
36:30 (6th), was seeded 11th in the 5,000m
having qualified with a time of 17:23.67.
On Saturday afternoon Gossels, who qualified for the competition
in both the 3000m and 5000m, took to the track to compete in the
5000m run (there is no 10,000m run for women at the Junior National
meet). She qualified when she ran 17:23.67 earlier this year at the
Boston University Valentine's Day Classic.
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| Jennifer Gossels '13 |
Despite the heat index at race time
being 105° on the track, and despite being ranked 11th in the
field of 15, Gossels used the slow tactical pace to her advantage.
She hit the mile in 5:33 and moved up through the field throughout
the rest of the race. Gossels seemed to catch and pass a runner
with each completed lap and used a blistering 79 second last 400m
to catapult herself to an astonishing 4th place finish.
"Jennifer ran an awesome race,” said Eph assistant
coach Patrick Wales-Dinan. “She wasn't fazed by the extreme
conditions and she continued to stay patient throughout the
duration of the race. She never panicked. That was a great way for
her to cap off an extraordinary freshman season."
Last fall Gossels was the first Eph finisher at the NCAA Division
III Championships when she crossed the line in 23:05 and in
49th place in a field of 200+ competitors. She led the
Ephs to an 8th place finish.
At the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Championships in May Tanasia Hoffler was the only Eph individual champion, taking top honors in the triple jump with a 12.46m (40’ 10.5”) effort, which was also a Williams record.
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| Tanasia Hoffler '13 |
Hoffler, who was a 3-time All-American
(Indoors: triple jump; Outdoors: triple jump and 4x400 relay) in
her freshman year qualified for the meet by virtue of her
dominating victory at the NCAA Championships last month. Hoffler,
who won the NCAA's with her school record leap, participated in
Friday's 16-person field where the top 8 competitors after three
attempts qualified for the finals.
Unfortunately Hoffler would end up in 9th with a jump of 37'-10"
just missing out on the finals. Nonetheless, the meet was the
culmination of what was an exceptional year for Hoffler. "Tanasia
has been one of the best athletes in NCAA Division III this year
and it was great to see her get the opportunity to compete against
the best throughout the nation,” said Wales-Dinan. “Her
hard work and determination are certainly paying off. I can't wait
to see what she has in store for us in her sophomore campaign!"
