Posted: Mar 08, 2021
Koalas Earn All-American Honors at NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship
Kelsey White-Kennedy, Victoria Heiser-Whatley, and Jessica Heiser-Whatley received NAIA All-American honors last week at the Indoor Track & Field event. The Koalas qualified four student-athletes in two events at the championships, Kelsey White-Kennedy in the 60m hurdles, and the trio of Shelby Winn, Jessica Heiser-Whatley, and Victoria Heiser-Whatley in the 3000m racewalk. This is the second consecutive year that Victoria Heiser-Whatley has earned All-American honors. This also marks the second time that Kelsey White-Kennedy has earned this honor, she finished in 4th place at the 2018 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Kelsey White-Kennedy, senior, was the first Koala to compete in Wednesday's events. She went into the 60m hurdle semi-final race ranked 13th in the nation. She finished in 8th place with a time of 9.01 seconds to earn her a spot in Friday's finals. During the finals which were held on Friday, she ran a time of 8.99 seconds, good for 7th place, and earning her All-American honors.
The finals for the 3000m racewalk where Victoria, Jessica, and Shelby were ranked 4th, 8th, and 9th, respectively, in the nation. All three walkers placed exactly where they were ranked earning Victoria and Jessica All-American honors for their 4th and 8th place finishes. Shelby finished 9th which was one spot away from All-American status and improved her personal best by 6 seconds.
Columbia College finished with a team score of 8 points and placed 29th overall improving their standings in last year of 45th place. The national meet took place at Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota.