It was another collegiate championship weekend, this time south of the border where two members of the Lions Den shone. In Lincoln, Nebraska, horizontal jumper Divya Biswal continued to show she is among the NCAA Division III elite. For the third straight season, Biswal earned All-American status with her bronze medal winning leap of 11.99m in the triple jump on Saturday. In Friday’s long jump competition, Biswal had a best mark of 5.34m to finish 11th.
At the NCAA Division 1 Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Samanatha Murphy and her University of Oregon teammates finished sixth in Friday night’s distance medley relay. Running third in the order, Murphy ran a 2:05.99 800m to help her team to finish sixth in 11:17.38 and earn All-American honours. In addition to her All-American distinction, Murphy left New Mexico with her first NCAA team championship as Oregon eked out victory over the University of Texas by a mere 0.5 points.
Back in Canada, a small contingent of athletes travelled to Montreal for the inaugural AC Indoor Open. Competing in the open category, hurdler Karelle Edwards finish third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.50 seconds while Gord Frenke ran 48.95 to finish third in the 400m. In the combined events, Michele Krech produced a new personal best score of 3697 points to capture the open pentathlon. Training partner Bridget Hayes also set a new personal best of 2935 points in the five event discipline to capture a national bronze in the junior category.
