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| NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Women Win NCAA National Championship; Jordahl Wins 5,000; Falcons Earn Seven All-American Honors  Front, left to right: Becca Jordahl, Becky Ponick, Brittany Smith, Shannon Zweifel. Back, left to right; Keven Syverson, assistant coach, Martha Brennan, head coach, Vicki Cooper, Krista Hasselquist, Kim Altenhofen, Scott Sekelsky, assistant coach, Steve Stocker, assistant coach. |
 Photo courtesy of Wartburg Sports Information  |
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The Falcon women's track & field team won the NCAA National Outdoor Championship on Saturday! Technically the Falcons tied with Illinois Wesleyan for the national title with each team scoring 35 team points. The meet was held at UW-Oshkosh. The Falcons put together several strong performances on Saturday. That, and some excellent results from Thursday, helped UWRF to the team's first outdoor track & field National Championship. On Saturday the Falcons had four outstanding performances that helped UWRF to the National title. One came from Becca Jordahl who won the 5,000-meter run and became the third Falcon to become a NCAA individual champion. She finished the race in 16:52.49 to break the school record which she held (17:01.58). Her performance earned her NCAA All-American honors. On Thursday Jordahl, a junior, placed third in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 35:48.01. She also earned All-American honors in the 5,000-meter run at the 2008 NCAA indoor championships. Vicki Cooper and Krista Hasselquist both garnered some key points for the Falcons in the shot put. They both earned All-America honors. Copper finished third and Hasselquist fifth to earn the Falcons 10 important team points. Copper, a senior, had a best throw of 46-3 ¼ which established a school record. Cooper has earned All-America status four times now, including the honor in the discus on Thursday. She also was an All-American in the shot in the indoor season in 2008 and the 2007 outdoor season in the shot. Hasselquist had the school record set in 2007 of 46-1 ¼. Hasselquist, a senior, had a season-best throw of 45-7 ¼ to earn All-American honors. For Hasselquist it was the fourth time she earned All-American honors. She was an All-American in the shot at the 2007 outdoor meet and at the 2006 and 2008 indoor meets. Kim Altenhofen also competed in the shot and had a best throw of 41-10 ¾. Despite her outstanding effort, Altenhofe, a junior, did not place. UWRF got another important four team points from Shannon Zweifel who placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. She also earned All-American recognition for her finish. She ran the race in 1:01.85 and just missed breaking her school record in the event (1:01.6). This is the third time that the senior has earned All-American recognition. She earned the honors at the 2006 and 2007 outdoor meets in the 400 hurdles. Cooper and Becky Ponick competed in the javelin. Ponick, a freshman, had a throw of 125-8 and Copper had a 123-9 effort. Despite the solid efforts, neither were able to place. ** The Falcon men's and women's teams garnered seven All-American honors in the three day event. Cooper (discus) and Jordahl (10,000) earned the honors on Thursday; Jason Phillippi (steeplechase) won the award on Friday and then the four Falcons picked up the honors on Saturday - Copper and Hasselquist in the shot; Zweifel in the 400 hurdles and Jordahl in the 5,000. ** The Falcon women picked up their 35 points in five events; discus (five points); 10,000-meters (six); shot put (10), 400 hurdles (four) and 5,000 (10). ** Martha Brennan is the team's head coach and she is assisted by Brenda Thiel (throws), Steve Stocker (sprints), Keven Syverson (middle and long distance), Scott Sekelsky (long distance) and Torrion Amie (jumps). ** Brennan missed the team’s National Championship winning performance, and her reason is well understood. Brennan gave birth to her fourth daughter, Bella Rose, on Wednesday evening. Brennan, and her husband, Bob, have three other daughters; Grace (10) and Eve (7) and Ivy (3). “I was going to leave for Oshkosh on Wednesday, but was feeling that the birth was getting close. I went to the doctor and later that night Bella was born. I mentioned to Bob on Thursday that we should head for Oshkosh, but he talked me out of it,” said Brennan, who is in her fourth year as head coach of the Falcons. This is the second time that the Falcon coach has given birth about the time of a big meet. Three years ago Ivy was born during the WIAC Outdoor Championships at UW-La Crosse. ** Thiel was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year on Wednesday. ** The Falcons were given a celebratory fire truck ride through downtown River Falls on Sunday afternoon. ** Jordahl is the third Falcon to win an individual NCAA track & field National Championship. Jill Crandall won the high jump National title last year and in 1996 Jen Pontius won the discus National Championship. ** Jordahl also earned All-American honors at last fall's NCAA Cross Country Championships where she placed fourth overall. ** The National Championship is the fourth at UWRF. The 1983 men's hockey team won the NAIA National title while the 1988 and 1994 men's hockey teams won NCAA National Championships. SUNDAY'S CELEBRATORY FIRE TRUCK RIDE PHOTOS MORE MEET, CELEBRATION PHOTOS FALCON 2008 OUTDOOR INDIVIDUAL RESULTS LISTEN!Listen to Falcon Coach Martha Brennan and all of the Falcon All-Americans talk about the NCAA National Championships. Martha Brennan Vicki Cooper Krista Hasselquist Becca Jordahl Jason Phillippi Shannon Zweifel |
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University of Wisconsin–River Falls |
