Three Falcon women earn right to compete at nationals

Jill Crandall and Carrie VanHouten, and junior Krista Hasselquist have qualified to compete in the NCAA Division III National Meet on March 9 and 10. The competition will be held at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.

Crandall, a three time track and field All-American in the high jump and heptathlon, will compete in the high jump. She qualified with a jump of 5-5 1/4. It was her best jump of the season and was good 12th place in the nation. Crandall set several records during the season too; at the MSU-Mankato Open, she and three others set the school record for the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:02.19. She also set the school record in the pentathlon at the WIAC championships at UW-Whitewater with a score of 3,474.

Crandall said that her season as a whole went well, but her high jump isn’t where she wants it to be right now because she is focusing on the pentathlon.

She said she’s not setting her expectations too high for placing.

“I’d just like to go and enjoy my last collegiate indoor meet and hopefully take some steps toward getting my high jump back on track for the outdoor season and the heptathlon,” she said.

In the high jump this season, Crandall had jumps of 5-4 1/4, 5-3 3/4 twice, and 5-5 1/4. She also competed in the 55 hurdles, 60 hurdles, long jump and shot put.

VanHouten will be competing in the pole vault. She placed third at conference with a jump of 11-9 3/4, which was a season best for her and good enough for 15th in the nation. It also set the school indoor record. VanHouten said this season was her best ever and does not have outrageous expectations for Nationals.

“I just want to do my best and hopefully place.”

In meets this season she’s had jumps of 11-9 3/4, 10-9, 11-2 1/4, 10-10 and 11-4 1/2 in the pole vault. She also competed in the 55-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Hasselquist qualified to compete in both the shot put and the weight throw. She set season bests in both with a weight throw of 53-9 1/4 and a distance of 44-5 1/4 in the shot put. Her weight throw was ninth in the nation and the shot put eighth. Hasselquist’s weight throw scores for the year are 46-9, 46-11, 50-10 3/4, 45-11 3/4 and 53-9 1/4. In the shot put, she scored 41-10 1/2, 43-3 3/4, 44-5 1/4, 38-4 and 42-7 1/2.

Head Coach Martha Brennan said she is happy with how the Falcons indoor team performed overall this year and expects the meet to go well also.

“[They just have] to do what they’ve been doing all year,” she said. “Usually if you do that you’ll place.”

The Division III National meet will end the indoor track and field season. The outdoor season starts at 10 a.m. March 14-17 at the Alabama Relays.