Stechschulte Places 6th at NCAA National Championship

Track: Stechschulte Takes Sixth at NCAAs

by Shannon McNamara for MSNsportsNET.com
March 10, 2007

 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior Abbie Stechschulte followed her BIG EAST first place finish in the pentathlon with a sixth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday, Mar. 10, at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center.

Stechschulte finished with a personal best 4,085 points, 69 points better than her BIG EAST score and only 26 points off the school record.

“I’m so excited. I can’t believe the meet is done and I finished sixth,” Stechschulte says. “I’m really happy with how my indoor track and field career ended. It would have been a bonus to get the school record, but that’s not even important. Just to finish sixth is a blessing.”

Stechschulte, a Columbus Grove, Ohio, native, started the day strong, taking seventh in the 60 meter hurdles (8.68).

The next event, the high jump, proved to be too much for Stechschulte, as she plummeted to 15th in point total with her leap of 1.63 meters.

Determined to improve upon her 16th place (3,874 points) finish at last year’s championship, Stechschulte fought back and moved to 10th place after the shot put. She finished third in the event with a personal best throw of 12.83 meters.

Stechschulte continued to climb in the rankings, taking second in the long jump with a personal best leap of 5.92 meters.

The day ended with Stechschulte taking 10th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:22.11, .5 seconds off her personal best.

“The coaching staff couldn’t be any more proud of Abbie and the performance she put on today,” says coach Jeff Huntoon. “She is a hard-working kid from a small town and defines where this program is headed.”

Additionally, due to her top eight finish, Stechschulte was named an All-American.

Having sat out the 2006 outdoor track and field season with a redshirt, Stechschulte will make her return to the squad Mar. 16 at the UNC-Charlotte Invitational.