FERRIS' AMY WOODMAN CLAIMS LONG JUMP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Bulldog Senior Jumper Claims School's First-Ever Women's Track Individual Title

Woodman registered the meet's best mark of 19-6 on her first jump of the competition, which ended up being one and three-quarters inches better than runner-up Kirby Blackley (19-4.25) of Findlay. Woodman topped the field of 15 jumpers and earned All-America recognition in her first trip to the national meet while competing in the first of two flights.

Amy Woodman

In other action Friday, Bulldog senior Kamitra Carroll (Flint/Carman-Ainsworth) placed 13th of 15 throwers in the weight throw with a top toss of 53-1.50 in the event. Woodman also competed in the preliminary round of the 200 meters, but failed to reach the finals with a time of 26.06, ranking 19th of 20 competitors.

The Bulldog women's indoor squad, by virtue of Woodman's 10 points in the long jump, are presently tied for fourth place overall in the team standings following the first day of competition. Action at the national meet wraps up Saturday (March 15). Carroll will be Ferris' lone competitor on Saturday as she will take part in the shot put starting at 12 p.m. (EDT).

Woodman's effort in the long jump represents the first time a Bulldog women's track and field athlete has ever claimed a national championship in either indoor or outdoor competition. The previous best performance was Carroll's runner-up performance in the weight throw at last year's national indoor meet in Boston, Mass. The last Ferris track athlete to claim a national crown was former men's standout thrower Paul Cochran, who won a combined three national titles in the throwing events at the 1990 indoor and outdoor championships.

Woodman, who is in her first season with FSU after transferring from the University of Wales, posted a school-record leap of 19-10.75 in the long jump earlier this year at the Eastern Michigan Classic (Feb. 16) in Ypsilanti, Mich. Woodman claimed first place at the meet in a field of 34 jumpers, which included a number of student-athletes from NCAA Division I schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Central Michigan. Her record-breaking mark bettered the second-place performance by 11 inches at the EMU Classic. Her showing in the event at the EMU Classic enabled her to enter Friday's national meet with the top overall performance in the long jump this campaign.

The Bulldog newcomer previously paced the FSU women's team by placing among the top eight finishers in four events at this year's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships (Feb. 29-March 1) held in Findlay, Ohio. She captured All-GLIAC honors with a third-place finish in the long jump (18-3.25) and also placed fifth in the 55 meters (7.40), sixth in the 200 meters (25.89) along with sixth in the triple jump (34-9.50). Blackley won this year's league crown in the long jump before Woodman came back to edge her at the national championships.

Entering the national meet, Woodman's 19-10.75 effort in the long jump was six inches better than the second-place individual on the NCAA-II listing, which happened to be Blackley.

The Bulldog women's squad was ranked 29th in the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II Coaches Power Rankings under head coach Jeff Kavalunas going into the national meet.

More information & results from the NCAA-II Championships can be found at this link:
NCAA-II Championships Website