Gustavus Adolphus senior track and field standout Janey Helland has qualified for the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in three events including the pentathlon, long jump, and high jump. Helland, who is the only qualifying member of the Gustavus women’s indoor track and field team, will take part in the NCAA Championships March 11-12 at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
Helland recorded wins in the pentathlon and long jump at the MIAC Championships held this past weekend in St. Paul . Her score of 3,512 in the pentathlon, the fourth best all-time in Division III according to Raceberry Jam, broke the MIAC meet record and school record. She finished in first place in four of the five events, winning the 55-meter hurdles (8.98), high jump 5’ 5.25”), shot put (33’ 3”), and long jump (18’ 6”), while placing eighth in the 800-meter run (2:33.44). Helland enters the NCAA Championships ranked second in the pentathlon behind Emma Dewart of Ithaca College who ranks first with 3565 points.
The Mapleton, Minn. native will also compete in the long jump and high jump. Helland became a three-time MIAC Champion in the long jump after recording a leap of 18’ 3.25”. She ranks fourth in the nation in the long jump with a mark of 18’ 9.25”, set at the MSU-Mankato Open on Jan. 28. Helland will also look to score in the high jump where she enters ranked 19th after clearing 5-5.25 at the MIAC Championships.
A total of 446 participants – 223 men and 223 women – will compete in the NCAA Championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.
The NCAA Championships will begin on Friday, March 11 with the women’s long jump taking place at 9:30 a.m.