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MAY
26-28 — Lehman,
Petkova Earn All-American Honors
Distance
runners capture respective thirds in
marathon, 10,000-meters |
Louisville, KY — The number
three was more than a charm for the Goshen College women’s
track and field program at this weekend’s 2005 NAIA Outdoor
Track & Field National Championships, with senior Melissa
Lehman and sophomore Petrana Petkova capturing third place finishes
in their respective events, and a pair of All-American honors as
a result.
Lehman took home third in the marathon event with a personal best
time of 3:03.50, setting a new school record from her previous
mark of 3:14.04 set in last year’s national championship
meet. Goshen assistant coach Doug Yoder said he believed that Lehman’s
prior championship experience helped her run a very calculated
race this weekend.
“Melissa ran with her head on Saturday morning,” Yoder
said. “Melissa
had probably the most tactical race among any of the runners as
far as being able to maintain her pace. When she needed to start
picking it up, she was able to, and then felt good all the way
to the finish.”
Lehman ran the second half of the event significantly faster than
the first, going through the half-marathon point in about 1:35
before dropping under 1:29 over the second half. She ran most of
the race in 12th place, two to three minutes behind the final All-American,
sixth-place, spot. She moved to 11th in the 15th mile, to 10th
in the 16th mile, to 6th in the 23rd mile, 4th in the 24th and
then to third with about a mile to go.
She was able to hold on to that slot over the final stretch, giving
her back-to-back All-American finishes in track’s longest
running event, a first in the history of Goshen College women’s
track and field.
“Repeating as an All-American in any event is difficult,
but especially so in the marathon, because of the difference in
the course and
the competition each year” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “Between
(senior) Justin (Gillette) — click here for men’s championship
recap — and Melissa, they are five for five in the marathon,
which is impressive.”
Petkova turned in an equally dominating performance in the 10,000-meter
run, finishing in a clip of 36:17.20. That mark erased a 15-year
old Goshen school record, as Petkova’s performance on Thursday
evening wiped Emily Willems’ 1990 time of 37:13.00 off the
boards.
Petkova ran with two others through the event’s midpoint
before eventual winner Miriam Kaumba of Oklahoma Baptist University
took control. Petkova and Lyuda Anderson of Mid-America Nazarene
University ran shoulder to shoulder before Anderson made a small
break. No one else was a factor in the race, with fourth place
finishing in 36:50.00.
“Petrana ran her race exactly as she wanted to,” Yoder
said. “There
wasn’t much variation in lap times, and that’s the
way we plan it for that long of a race.”
Incredibly, Petkova’s latest All-American honor was the fifth
overall of her two-year collegiate career, as the Bulgarian native
picked up three while at Central Methodist University prior to
transferring to Goshen this year. She also achieved an All-American
finish in
this year’s indoor national championships, finishing second
in the 5,000-meter run.
“What Petrana has been able to do in such a short time as
a collegian is incredible,” Clark said. “She is a naturally
gifted runner who trains very hard. We are proud to have her wearing
a
Maple Leaf uniform.”
Petkova also advanced to Saturday’s finals in the 5,000-meter
race after qualifying with a 17:38.20 time from Friday’s
semifinals, but did not finish. Junior Erin Williams also made
the trip to this weekend’s national event after qualifying
in the pole vault, but was unable to clear the event’s opening
height Friday evening. Even without advancing, Williams had a stellar
season for the Leafs, re-setting the program’s outdoor pole
vaulting record a total three times.
“It was incredible how Erin just continued to soar in the
pole vault this year,” Clark said. “I know she will
continue to work extremely hard to get back to this point next
year, and hopefully
improve on what she’s already done.”
Clark does lose Lehman to graduation, however, as the two-time
All-American concluded her career with a bang. In addition to finishing
in the top six in the marathon competition in the last two seasons,
she also was awarded All-America Scholar-Athlete honors four times.
Her trip to national competition marked the fourth such event in
Lehman’s career, and she became just the fourth athlete in
Goshen College women’s track and field history to achieve
multiple All-American honors.
“There is no question that Melissa Lehman exemplifies what
a true student-athlete is comprised of,” Clark said. “She
has worked very hard to turn herself into a top-caliber college
athlete. We will use her as an example for future members of our
program, and we wish her nothing but the best.”
As a result of Lehman and Petkova’s finishes, Goshen finished
in 26th-place in the team results at the national championship
meet, garnering 12 team points. Simon Frasier University won the
team scoring event with a total 79.50 points. For a complete list
of team finishes and scores, click here. For a complete list of
individual results, click here.
A special thanks to Lyle Miller, who contributed to this article.
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  Senior
Melissa Lehman
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