Cvitanovic Earns Second-Team All-America Honors at NCAAs

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Cvitanovic Earns Second-Team All-America Honors on Final Day of NCAA National Championships
Cvitanovic earns her second, Second-Team All-America honor with 15th-place finish in heptathlon

June 11, 2016

EUGENE, Ore. (SMU) — SMU senior Lucija Cvitanovic earned her second, Second-Team All-America honor after finishing 15th in the heptathlon at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., Satuday. Cvitanovic scored 5,482 points over the course of seven events and climbed into All-American ranks by scoring 2,379 points on the final day of competition.

The day started with the long jump, where Cvitanovic posted a personal-best 5.60-meter (18-4½ ) jump. The mark was enough to finish 16th in the discipline and sixth in flight one. She earned 729 points and climbed two positions.

The senior found herself at 18th on the leaderboard after an event-winning throw of 47.35-meters (155-4) in the javelin on her final attempt. The mark is the fifth-farthest in program history and topped the second-place finisher by 2.25-meters (7-4). The throw earned the Zagreb, Croatia, native, 809 points and pushed her to 4,641points.

Cvitanovic closed the day in the 800m, where she clocked a 2:18.75 to finish fourth in heat one and 11th overall. The time earned her 841 points, which pushed her three spots up the leaderboard and into Second-Team All-American standings.

"What a day for Lucija," SMU head coach Cathy Casey said. "She really fought back today starting off with her PR in long jump, event winning javelin and a very solid 800m. She is such a tough competitor and never stopped fighting for every point.

"To say Lucija is going to be missed is an understatement," Casey remarked. "She has not only been an incredible athlete, but just an amazing person and caring teammate. I have never been around someone so positive and genuine in all my years coaching. Lucija embodies what a true Mustang really is. Her shoes will be very hard to fill."

All three Mustangs that traveled to the NCAA National Championships earned Second-Team All-America Honors. Tochi Nlemchi and Latessa Johnson finished ninth in the country in the shot put and 200m, respectively.

"The Mustangs came to NCAAs confident and really performed well," Casey said. “Tessa, Tochi and Lucija executed their plans perfectly, and to have all three come away with Second-Team All-America Honors is a terrific way to cap off an outstanding season for these talented young women."

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

What a big day! Congratulations, Lucija!