NCAA Championship Program

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SEARCY – Senior Cathy Ebenja and freshman Ewa Zaborowska, both members of the Harding women's outdoor track and field team, received invitations from the NCAA to compete in the Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 24-26 in Pueblo, Colo.

The NCAA invites between 15-20 competitors in each of the outdoor track and field events. All of the invitees have reached the minimum provisional qualifying standard in each event. The top eight finishers in each event at the national meet earn All-America honors.

Ebenja, a native of Little Rock, Ark., qualified 11th in the 100 meters with a season-best time of 11.79 seconds. It will be her first outdoor national meet.

Harding athletes have received four All-America honors in the 100 meters. Bumiegha Tombiri was All-America in 1996 and 1997, and Calister Uba was All-America in 1997 and 1998.

Ebenja will run in the 100-meter dash preliminaries on Thursday, May 24 at 7:10 p.m. Central Time. The final is Saturday at 7:38 p.m.

Zaborowska, who hails from Wejherowo, Poland, qualified ninth in the 800 meters. She ran a season-best 2 minutes, 10.36 seconds last weekend at Georgia Tech. It is also her first outdoor national meet.

The Lady Bisons have also had four All-America honors in the 800 meters. Hanna Haavikko was All-America in 2000 and 2001, and Gosia Drazkowska was All-America in 2005 and 2006.

Zaborowska will run in the 800-meter preliminaries Friday at 7 p.m., with the final coming Saturday at 7:55 p.m.

Zaborowska also provisionally qualified in the 1,500 meters but chose to concentrate only on the 800 meters.

Ebenja was a provisional qualifier in the long jump with a school-record mark of 19 feet, 3.25 inches. She finished the season ranked 20th in Division II, but the NCAA committee took the top 19. Ebenja was ¼ of an inch away from receiving an invitation.

Two other Lady Bisons also just missed the national meet.

Sophomore Kristen Celsor broke the school record with a high jump of 5 feet, 7.25 inches. The NCAA committee took high jumpers with heights of 5 feet, 7.75 inches or better.

Junior Tiffany Chambers set the Harding pole vault record with a height of 12 feet, but 12 feet, 2 inches was required for nationals.