Pfeufer, Straus Earn All-NCAC Honors

May 1, 2007

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Allegheny College juniors Emily Pfeufer (St. Mary’s, Pa./Elk County Catholic) and Liz Straus (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) placed second and third, respectively, at the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Multi-Event Championships. In the heptathlon, Pfeufer scored 4,381 points, a total that puts her with the 10th highest total in Division III, while Straus scored 3,692 combined points, nearly 200 ahead of fourth place. Freshman Emily Kiernan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), competing in her first heptathlon, finished fifth with 3,203 points.

The heptathlon is a seven-event competition, with the scoring not coming based on finish among the competitors, but on a conversion chart. With the three scoring athletes, the Gators will take a two-point, 18-16 lead into the remainder of the NCAC Championships over indoor champion Ohio Wesleyan, as the two schools combined for six of the top eight placers in the heptathlon.

Pfeufer jumped out to a quick lead after the first event, the 100-meter hurdles, as she came within four hundredths of a second of the school record in the event, accumulating 751 points. Straus was not far behind, finishing second in the event with a time of 16.30, earning 678 points. Kiernan took sixth in the field of eight, running a time of 17.90, good for 499 points. Pfeufer followed with a second-place finish in the high jump, leaping 5-2.25, earning 712 points for a total of 1,463 through two events, while Straus’ and Kiernan’s leaps of 4-9.5 and 4-7 earned 577 and 512 points, respectively.

Pfeufer once again placed high, finishing second in the shot put with a toss of 29-7.5, increasing her lead over second place by 11 points by totaling 466 points. Kiernan placed fourth in the event, moving into fifth place overall after her throw of 26-3 gave her 399 points for the event and 1,410 for the meet, while Straus finished in fifth place with a toss of 24-6.5, earning 366 points.

In the final event of the first day, the 200-meter dash, Ohio Wesleyan’s Ashley Shaffer erupted for 769 points with a time of 26.32, taking over first place from Pfeufer by 17 total points. Straus placed second overall, earning 650 points, closing to within 13 points of third place for the championships. Pfeufer took third in a time of 28.12, earning 621 points while Kiernan placed sixth with a time of 29.66, earning 506 points.

At the onset of the second day, Pfeufer re-took her lead with a leap of 17-7.5 in the long jump, scoring 663 points, giving her 3,213 over the two days, ahead of Shaffer’s total of 3,140. Straus placed fourth with a leap of 15-0, earning 446 points with Kiernan leaping to a distance of 14-6, giving her 408 points.

Pfeufer followed her long jump win by taking the top spot in the javelin throw, out-scoring the second place competitor, Kiernan, by 215 points after her throw of 120-6. Kiernan moved into fifth place overall by placing second in the javelin with a toss of 83-3, earning 390 points, while Straus placed fifth with a throw of 79-8.75, good for 369 points.

In the seventh and final event of the day, Shaffer once again put together a late rally, winning the 800-meter run by 22 seconds, running a time of 2:15.24 and earning a meet-high 889 points, pulling ahead of Pfeufer by 26 points and taking the NCAC Championship in the event. Straus placed second in the race with a time of 2:37.18, earning 606 points, with Pfeufer finishing three seconds behind in a time of 2:40.83, earning 563 points. Kiernan rounded out her inaugural heptathlon by placing fifth in a time of 2:47.55, a tenth of a second off of fourth place.

The Gators look to keep their lead at the championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4.

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