Women's Track and Field | 5/26/2022 9:25:00 PM

GENEVA, Ohio – A mere one-hundredth of a meter prevented the St. John Fisher College women's track and field team from earning an All-America award on the opening day of the 2022 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Two Cardinals - Veronica Duell and Michaela Kurbs - participated in the long jump on Thursday evening at the SPIRE Institute. 

The first freshman in the history of the women's track and field program to qualify for the NCAAs, Duell produced the third-best mark in the first flight. After a foul on her first attempt, the Bergen, New York, native flew 5.64 meters. While it was enough to advance to the final three rounds, but Duell was unable to post a better distance from there.

Duell ultimately finished in ninth place despite a strong performance in the first flight. Justone centimeter ahead of her was Jordan Andrew (5.65m) from Tufts, who secured the final All-American award in the top eight. Duell was only two centimeters behind the seventh-place athlete, Hannah Zenkovich (5.66m) from Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Kurbs, who entered the NCAA Championships in a tie with Duell with the 12th-best distance in the country at 5.81 meters, failed to score on her first two jumps. The sophomore from Lockport, New York, cleared 5.02 meters for 21st place on her final attempt.

Although the season has officially concluded for Fisher's women's track and field team, Kyle Rollins will represent the Cardinal and Gold in two events over the next two days. His first bid for another national title will be in the high jump on Friday at 2:00 p.m.