Grandt Earns All-America Status
June 10, 2010 12:05 AM | General
June 10, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University track and field senior Clara Grandt earned All-America honors Wednesday evening with a fourth-place showing in the 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
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| Clara Grandt earned All-America honors Wednesday evening with her fourth-place showing at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene, Ore.
Kirby Lee photo |
The West Union, W.Va., native finished with a time of 33.23.22 to earn her third All-America mention of the season.
“What can I say about Clara Grandt – four time All-American, BIG EAST, Eastern and NCAA Regional Champion. In our perfect world, Clara would have been a little further up the rankings, but tonight I witnessed one of the finest finishes in program history,” coach Sean Cleary said. “Clara was back in 10th place with five laps to go and really looked rough. I am so happy with her commitment to catching as many runners as she could for the finish. Proud beyond words is how I feel about Clara Grandt.”
Grandt became an All-American in cross country earlier in the year after finishing 13th (20:19) at the NCAA Championships. She then earned her second honor of the season in indoor track in the 5,000-meter race after finishing as one of the top U.S. Citizens in the race.
She is just the second female in school history to be an All-American in three sports in one season. The other is Grandt’s teammate Keri Bland who achieved the status in 2008.
Junior Katelyn Williams also represented the Mountaineers today as the first high jumper from WVU to qualify for NCAAs since 1990. The Chesterland, Ohio, native competed well but did not score.
“Katelyn has had a standout year. We are so happy that she had the opportunity to be in Eugene for this experience,” Cleary said. “Half of the field missed opening bar in less than ideal conditions – Katelyn will be back next year to lead this team.”
Competition continues Thursday as seniors Keri Bland and Karly Hamric run in the 1,500-meter semifinals at 8 p.m.
