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Bonnie Meekins Finishes 16th at NCAA Championships
Senior Scores 5,444 Points in the Heptathlon
06/08/07 6:55PM
SACRAMENTO, CALIF - William and Mary senior Bonnie Meekins (Herndon, Va.) capped her five years in Williamsburg by finishing 16th in the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships. She moved up from 18th after the first day with a near-career-best performance in the javelin throw and a new personal best in the 800m run to total 5,444 points.
Final Heptathlon Results
Meekins got a boost in the standings before she even went to sleep last night, as prohibitive favorite Diana Pickler of Washington State was disqualified from the 200m dash after stepping on the lane line too many times, dropping her from first to 25th. Opening the day with the long jump, Meekins jumped 18 9, good enough to keep pace in the field at 18th overall.
She began her move upwards in the javelin throw, where her fifth-place throw of 134 1 was only one centimeter shy of her personal-best in the event (which converts to 134 1 as well). In the 800m run, she punched the accelerator with a personal-best performance of 2:18.59, placing sixth in the event and moving up two spots in the final standings to finish 16th.
Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State won the heptathlon crown with 5,984 points, 153 points better than runner-up Julie Pickler of Washington State (Dianas twin sister). All-American honors were accorded to the top-eight finishers, as well any of the top-eight American-born finishers not in the overall top eight.
Meekins will now await word on whether or not she is invited to the USAT&F National Championships, June 20-24 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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