Ahrens Breaks New Ground with Spot in D1 Championship
Senior Stephanie Ahrens became the first Omaha track & field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championship in the Division I era.
- published: 2018/05/25
Senior Stephanie Ahrens became the first Omaha track & field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championship in the Division I era on Thursday.
Ahrens tied for second in the high jump at the NCAA West Preliminary with a leap of 5-10 ¾, tying her second-best mark of the season. She was in 12th place after clearing 5-08 ¾ but jumped up to a tie for second after clearing 5-10 ¾ in her first attempt.
In all, 12 athletes out of 46 qualified for the national championship with 10 all jumping 5-10 ¾.
"Thank you to coaches Jill (Scanlan), Chris (Richardson) and Logan (Ogden) for making me the athlete I am," said Ahrens after the event. "Words cannot express how excited I am to represent Omaha in Eugene."
The last time the Mavericks had an athlete in the NCAA Championship was 2011 when Heather Minssen finished second in the shot put and Sami Spenner took fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division II Championship.
"Jill and I are extremely happy for Steph," said Richardson. "She has been putting in a lot of hard work, and it's really paid off.
"I'm thrilled that Steph will be able to compete at Historic Hayward Field for her first NCAA Championship. It's a great honor for any track and field athlete."
Ahrens holds the school record in the high jump indoors (5-10 ¾) and is tied with Kathie-Lee Laidley for the school record outdoors (5-11 ½).
The NCAA Championship will be held in Eugene, Ore. on June 7-9.
Ahrens tied for second in the high jump at the NCAA West Preliminary with a leap of 5-10 ¾, tying her second-best mark of the season. She was in 12th place after clearing 5-08 ¾ but jumped up to a tie for second after clearing 5-10 ¾ in her first attempt.
In all, 12 athletes out of 46 qualified for the national championship with 10 all jumping 5-10 ¾.
"Thank you to coaches Jill (Scanlan), Chris (Richardson) and Logan (Ogden) for making me the athlete I am," said Ahrens after the event. "Words cannot express how excited I am to represent Omaha in Eugene."
The last time the Mavericks had an athlete in the NCAA Championship was 2011 when Heather Minssen finished second in the shot put and Sami Spenner took fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division II Championship.
"Jill and I are extremely happy for Steph," said Richardson. "She has been putting in a lot of hard work, and it's really paid off.
"I'm thrilled that Steph will be able to compete at Historic Hayward Field for her first NCAA Championship. It's a great honor for any track and field athlete."
Ahrens holds the school record in the high jump indoors (5-10 ¾) and is tied with Kathie-Lee Laidley for the school record outdoors (5-11 ½).
The NCAA Championship will be held in Eugene, Ore. on June 7-9.
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