Elizabethtown College Women's Track and Field
Friday, March 12, 2004

Etown's Carrie Kerna & Melissa St. Clair Compete at NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, Both Earn All-America Honors as St. Clair Finishes 3rd in Nation in 5000m and Kerna Makes Finals in 55m Hurdles

WHITEWATER, Wis. --- A pair of Elizabethtown College women's track & field athletes competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for the first time Friday, with senior Carrie Kerna (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) competing in the preliminaries of the 55m hurdles and junior Melissa St. Clair (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) competing in the 5000m. Both clinched All-America honors by finishing in the top eight.

St. Clair finished third out of 14 competitors in the 5000m in 17:18.19. That time was well below her previous personal best and Etown indoor program record of 17:41.09, and St. Clair as a result finished much higher than her seeded position of 12th. By placing in the top eight in the nation, she also earned All-America honors for the first time in her track & field career. St. Clair also earned All-America honors in cross country in November 2003.

Kerna posted the fastest time in her heat and the second fastest time of the day in the 55m hurdles in 8.30 seconds, thereby clinching a spot in the 55m hurdles finals Saturday, and, along with it, All-America honors. The top eight competitors in an event are named All-Americans, and the top eight also made the cut to compete in the finals Saturday. Kerna's time of 8.30 Friday was 0.10 off her personal best of 8.20 seconds set during the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, but it was still enough to beat 14 other competitors at the national championships.

At the conclusion of Friday's competition, Elizabethtown was tied for 11th out of 24 scoring teams at the NCAA championships with 6.0 points. Competition will resume Saturday, and Kerna will compete in the finals of the 55m hurdles at 4:35 p.m. CST.