Barnes, stafslien Compete At Nationals

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Posted: Friday, March 11, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Stephanie Barnes (So. -Sauk City/Sauk Prairie) took third place in the pole vault while Jen Stafslien (Jr. -Onalaska/West Salem) finished seventh in the long jump and qualified for tomorrow's final in the 55-meter hurdles here today at the NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University.

Barnes, who came into the meet with the nation's third best height on the season, cleared a height of 3.65 meters (11-11.75) for the third place finish. She is the first Blugold to earn All-American status in the pole vault since Eau Claire began competition at the NCAA Division III Nationals in 1988. The height tied with Meghan Voiland of Augustana (IL) but Voiland cleared the bar earlier than Barnes. The height is just short of Barnes' season best of 3.66 meters (12-0). Megan Rossi of North Central College won today's event with a height of 3.75 meters (12-3.5).

Stafslien finished fourth in the preliminary round of the long jump, advancing to the finals with a distance of 5.56 meters (18-3). She posted an identical distance in the finals to finish in seventh place at the event. The distance is a new season best for Stafslien and ties her own school record set last March.

The junior Blugold also competed in the 55-meter preliminaries today, where she finished fourth in her heat and seventh overall to advance to tomorrow's finals. She finished in a time of 8.35 seconds. Aislinn Sowash of Haverford College posted the fastest time on the day with a time of 8.21 seconds.

The 55-meter hurdles final will be held tomorrow at 4:25 p.m.