For the Lawrence indoor track team, last weekend’s Pointer Invitational at UW-Stevens Point was highlighted by Rose Tepper’s NCAA-tournament-qualifying performance in the high jump.
Tepper, a sophomore, cleared a height of 1.67 meters to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships, held March 11 and 12 at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Even though she barely missed clearing the 1.71-meter height necessary to automatically qualify for the tournament, a jump of 1.67 meters will likely be enough to secure a spot in the championship.
Other highlights for Lawrence in the meet included the weight throw of Nick Kerkman – whose mark of 13.72 meters landed him in eighth place out of the 24 competitors in the event – and the sixth-place finish by Sam Stevens in the mile run with a time of 4:24.55.
However, those performances were the exception rather than the rule. The men’s team finished in 11th place out of 12 teams, while Tepper’s performance allowed the women to pass up UW-Whitewater and finish in 10th.
After the meet was over, Tepper was named Midwest Conference Field Performer of the Week for her jump, which beat Madeline Steininger’s mark to set a new Lawrence record.
The track team’s next meet will be the Eastbay Invitational, held Feb. 19 and also at UW-Stevens Point.
Tepper leaps into record books
