Bonnie Meekins Wins ECAC Heptathlon Title

School-Record 5,457 Points Just Shy of NCAA Automatic Standard

05/12/07 8:50PM

PRINCETON, NJ - For the second year in a row, the ECAC heptathlon crown is returning to Williamsburg on the shoulders of a school-record holder.

Final Heptathlon Results
Saturday Track Results
Saturday Field Results

Senior Bonnie Meekins (Herndon, Va.) dominated the field on Saturday, moving up from fifth place after Friday’s four events to claim the heptathlon crown with a school-record and NCAA Provisional-qualifying mark of 5,457 points. That point total ranks 16th nationally based on performances through May 10, and should be more than enough to earn Meekins a bid to the NCAA Championships. She also broke the USAT&F Senior National’s provisional qualifying mark of 5,400 points.

In the heptathlon, Meekins set life-time best marks in each of the last four events, starting with Friday’s 200m dash, where she timed 26.22 seconds. On Saturday, she opened with a long jump performance of 18’ 11.25”, three-and-a-half inches past her own school record. In the javelin, Meekins turned in the fifth-best performance all-time with a throw of 134’ 1” to win the event. Finally, she ran 2:18.86 in the 800m to smoke the rest of the field by more than two seconds.

Also competing Saturday, sophomore Abby Lemon (Berryville, Va.) threw almost three feet past her own school record in the hammer throw, taking 11th with a distance of 163’ 11”.

The ECAC Championships conclude tomorrow.