Omaha
NCAA Division II Indoor Championship Day 2
Puc, Domike Earn Titles; Mavs Finish Fourth at Nat
Mar 14, 2010 | Track & Field
Results
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – #Anja Puc and Nkeiruka Domike# earned national championships and new school records to lead the UNO track and field team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships on Saturday night.
Puc and Domike combined for 20 of UNO's 45 points. The Mavericks finished just two points behind Ashland and Grand Valley State which tied for second. Lincoln University of Missouri won the championship with 56 points.
“These girls…competed against some really tough competition, almost like David against Goliath, and pulled out some impressive performances,” said head coach Steve Smith.
Puc's time of 2:07.14 in the 800 meter broke her own school record and earned her first place overall and All-American honors. Domike's triple jump distance of 42 feet, two and one-quarter inches was her fifth consecutive school record jump in as many meets. She also earned All-American honors.
“This is my third year in nationals,” Puc said. “Everybody did their best and I think it was a great thing to have seven athletes competing here. I definitely feel good about running well and improving my time, but I'm glad that we were all here together.”
Domike, a Nigerian native who was competing in the triple jump indoors for the first time ever this year, said she has enjoyed her first North American season.
“I was excited about it,” Domike said. “It was a very nice track to compete at. I thought. I really just try to get better every week, and I am always looking to jump further.”
Senior #Heather Minssen# earned a third place finish in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, one and one-half inch. The Underwood, Iowa native scored six points for the team in her final indoor national event.
“Heather had a tough start and really battled back,” Smith said. “Then she still took it to the next level to finish in the top three. That shows some determination.”
Competing in both the pentathlon and 60 meter hurdles, senior #Shannon Moore# finished the day scoring seven points for the Mavericks. Moore posted a third place finish in the pentathlon with 3,923 points, coming one point behind Central Missouri's Lindsay Lettow. Moore also finished the 60 meter hurdles in eighth at 8.86.
Sophomore #Maja Mihalinec# earned a seventh-place finish in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.58.
#Kayla Koepke#, ranked 13th in the prelims yesterday, managed a fifth place finish in the 400 meter finals at 55.64, adding another four points for the team. Koepke combined with Puc, Mihalinec and Moore to finish third in the 4 x 400 meter relay with a time of 3:45.84.
The Mavericks will now rest up for the outdoor season, beginning at the Northwest Missouri State Invititational in Maryville, Mo. on April 3.
