Meet Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — When comparing the events of Saturday to a typical day in the life of
Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), the day turned out be pretty out of the ordinary.
For one thing, Dingels found herself one of 14 high jumpers at Illinois Wesleyan University, competing at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships — an honor she earned after clearing 5-feet, 5 3/4-inches in the pentathlon last Thursday at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
Not that out of the ordinary?
Just wait, there's more.
Dingels, a senior multi-eventer, was the only Cardinal to represent Saint Mary's University at the NCAA Division III National Indoor Track and Field Championships — not to mention she was the only MIAC representative to compete in the women's high jump and only one of 17 conference athletes present at the meet.
Still not that strange?
All right, here's the kicker.
Unlike last week's MIAC Championships — in which Dingels not only competed in five events during Wednesday's pentathlon, but also took part in several more events over the next two days of the regular season-ending conference meet — Dingels only took on one event at the NCAA Championships as opposed to her normal multi-eventer day of five events, giving her a restful weekend to focus solely on the high jump.
And focus she did as Dingels cleared the opening height of 5-1 to finish 13th overall.
"Obviously, I'm happy Ashley was able to compete (at the NCAA Indoor Championships) — that's an accomplishment in itself," said SMU coach Kirk Nauman, who was named MIAC Indoor Women's Coach of the Year last week after his team scored a school record 94 points to place fourth at the MIAC Championships. "She did the best she could, and in a few weeks, she'll be able to feed off this great experience when she competes outdoors.
"With any luck, Ashley won't be alone at the outdoor national championships (in May) — we're hoping she'll have a lot of company next time around."
Dingels and the rest of the Cardinals now have three weeks to rest until the outdoor track season begins. The first outdoor meet will take place in Ripon, Wis., on April 2.
