KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Saginaw Valley State University junior Track & Field student-athlete Lauren Huebner had an impressive opening day on Thursday at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships, taking the first place position after the first four events of the heptathlon. Huebner finished the job on Friday, maintaining that lead throughout and capping her performance with a national championship and new program record.
Huebner posted a new record of 5,364 points, besting her previous best of 5,213 points that secured her an automatic qualifying mark into this year's championships.
She began the day on Friday with a distance of 5.63 meters in the long jump for 738 points and followed that up with 597 points in the javelin throw after tossing it a personal best distance of 36.34 meters. That gave her a slim 12 point margin heading into the final event, which was the 800 meter run.
Lauren left nothing to doubt in her quest for the title, taking the top spot in the final race after posting a time of 2:19.19 for 835 points to claim the national championship. She became only the program's fifth student-athlete to claim an NCAA national title and the first since Paul Markel in 2001.
It is Huebner's second all-american honor in her career. She finished third overall in the pentathlon at the 2019 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships earlier this year.
Up Next...
The Cardinals will have three student-athletes competing in the third and final day of the championships on Saturday, as Ryan Kelly will compete in the shot put while Allison Dorr and Tom Goforth will run in the 5,000 meter run. You can follow all of the action live Saturday at svsucardinals.com.
Post-race Interview - Lauren Huebner
