On the same morning that she earned this week's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Field Athlete of the Week award, Ashland University senior Jamie Sindelar picked up an even bigger prize.
Sindelar was named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II Women's National Athlete of the Week on Tuesday (Jan. 26), thanks to her winning shot put mark of 16.57 meters/54-feet-4½ on Saturday (Jan. 23) at the Tiffin Dragon Open.
Sindelar's mark not only improved on a previous automatic-qualifying distance for the 2016 NCAA Division II indoor national championships, March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kan., it also was just 0.3 meters shy of her all-time best throw, which is the second-best D-II women's indoor shot put distance all-time.
That heave also is the best in 2015-16 in all of Division II.
Also on Saturday, Sindelar improved on her previous provisional nationals-qualifying mark in the weight throw (17.25 meters/56-feet-7¼).
Ashland's men's and women's indoor track and field teams will split and go to the Findlay Classic and the Penn Nationals on Friday (Jan. 29) and Saturday (Jan. 30).
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