Augustana's
Rachel Stangler broke her own school record and became a 2-time All-American by finishing 5th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase Saturday at the 2007 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at Irwin Belk Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Stangler, a junior from Albany, Minn., crossed the finish line in 10:48.88. In the process, she shaved nearly 6 seconds off her school-record time of 10:54.50 set at the North Central Conference Championships 2 weeks ago.
By finishing in the top 8, Stangler, who qualified fourth in Thursday's preliminaries with a time of 11:03.75, became a 2-time All-American in the event. She was 8th in 2005 and sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt.
Stangler's teammate,
Mairead Kelly, a junior from Forest City, Iowa, missed becoming an All-American by 1 place. Kelly, who had the third-best qualifying time (10:55.11) on Thursday, placed ninth in 11:07.30.
Brittany Somers of Adams State (Colo.) won the steeplechase with a time of 10:26.97.
A third Viking,
Jen Buyske was bidding to reclaim her 2005 national title and become a 3-time All-American in the javelin. However, the junior from Shelby, Mont., finished 14th with a mark of 37.99 meters.
Buyske fouled on her first attempt in the opening round. She followed that with a mark of 33.11 meters on her second attempt, before recording the 37.99 meter effort. She was 8th in her flight and did not advance to the event finals.
Adree Lakey of Angelo State (Texas) won the javelin with a toss of 43.10 meters.
It was Buyske's final appearance for the Vikings as she graduated last week and will attend graduate school in the fall.
To see complete results from the Division II Outdoor Championships, click the meet results link below.
Meet Results
