Barker's All-American Bid in Heptathlon Falls Short

Christina Acquaviva of SUNY Cortland cruised to the national championship with a total of 5,189 points.

Brooke Barker Photo: Pacific University Athletics

OSHKOSH, Wis. - Brooke Barker's bid to become a three-time All-American in the heptathlon fell short Friday as the Pacific senior finished 11th in the event at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, held at J.J. Kellar Field at Titan Stadium.

Barker compiled a total of 4,488 points in the seven-event discipline, her highest point total of the season and the fourth highest of her Pacific career.

The Pacific and Northwest Conference record holder in the event, Barker was the 2006 national meet runner-up and was an All-American in 2005 and 2006.

The Sheldon High School graduate will have one more chance to come home with an All-American trophy in the javelin, which begins Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. (PDT). Barker enters with the ninth best mark in the event.

Usually the strongest in the second day, Barker actually lost ground in the day's first event, the long jump. After beginning the day in 14th place, Barker finished 18th in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 3.25 inches, and slipped to 15th in the competition.

As expected, Barker gained points in the with a fourth place finish in the javelin, moving up to 11th place with a throw of 123 feet, 1 inch. She finished the competition with her second best time of the season in the 800 meters, finishing 11th with a time of 2:29.55.

Christina Acquaviva of SUNY Cortland cruised to the national championship with a total of 5,189 points, winning three of seven events and finishing in the top seven in all but one event.

Amy Reed of Messiah was second in 5,142 points and Jillian Crandall of Wisconsin-River Falls was third with a total of 4,989 points.

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