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Issued: May 27, 2006

FALLER, KOOISTRA EARN ALL-AMERICAN; BLUGOLDS PLACE 10TH

LISLE, Ill. - Picking up two more All-American performances on the final day, the UW-Eau Claire women's track team placed 10th in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships which concluded at Benedictine University here Saturday.

Junior Liz Faller (Marinette) finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with the second fastest time in school history at 14.29 seconds and freshman Liz Kooistra (Lakeville, MN) placed eighth in the 400-meter dash, also with the second fastest time in school history at 56.30 seconds.

The two places gave the Blugolds a final team total of 21 and their top 10 finish for the second year in a row. Last year, the Blugolds tied for eighth with 26 points. Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-Oshkosh ran away with the team title, finishing with 52 points, well ahead of runner-up Williams College which had 42. Rounding out the top 10 were SUNY-Oneonta and City of College of New York with 41, Calvin College with 40, Lincoln University with 34, Bates College with 24, UW-La Crosse with 23, North Central with 21.5 and the Blugolds with 21.

Although the 100-meter hurdle race was wind-aided, Faller came within 2/100ths of a second of the school record (14.27) set by Jen Stafslien in the trials of last year's national meet. Stafslien placed fifth in the finals and teammate Breanna McMullen was eighth. Faller ran a 14.56 in trials Friday and had run a 14.41 to qualify for nationals. Carthage's Sheana Grigsby won the national title for a third consecutive year with a winning effort of 14.06. Frostburg's Sumer Rohrs was second at 14.22 and Susquehanna's Emily Lepley was third in 14.25.

Kooistra came close to breaking the school record she set for the third time this season in Friday's trials at 56.29 with her 56.30 clocking in the finals. Illinois Wesleyan's Rachel Anderson, who set the Division III record in the trials at 54.82, ran a 54.98 to win the event by 64/100ths of a second.

Senior Erin Kokta (Brookfield/East) came up short in her bid to become a two-time All-American Saturday when she did not qualify for the finals in the triple jump. Her best jump of 36-9.75 was well off her season-best mark of 38.5.5 which would have placed seventh in the finals. Kokta had the best finish of any Blugold in the national meet when she placed third in the long jump Thursday.

Blugold Place Winners at the NCAA Nationals - All-American Status
3rd - Erin Kokta, long jump, 18-10
4th - Liz Faller, 100-meter hurdles, 14.29
4th - Steph Barnes, pole vault, 12-2.5
5th - Paula Crossfield, discus, 143-6
8th - Liz Kooistra, 400-meter dash, 56.30 (School record 56.29 in trials)

Participants not placing
Brooke Schmidt, discus, 131-9
Erin Kokta, triple jump, 36-9.75
Molly Warner, 10,000-meter run, 38:21.18
1600-meter relay, 3:51.61 (Laura Broner, Faller, Shalene Huth, Kooistra)

Women's Final Results

Men's Final Results

- TP -

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