Delophont Earns All-America Status on First Day of NCAA Indoor Championships
3/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field, Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
Freshman ties Kent State record to finish 5th in the high, set to compete in the triple jump on Saturday evening.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Three members of the Kent State University Track & Field squad, freshman Dior Delophont (Nancy, France), junior Ann Marie Duffus (North Clarendon, Jamaica), and Melinda Sawnor (Rochester, N.Y.), competed in the Randal Tyson Track Center today at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted at the University of Arkansas.
Delophont, named the Most Valuable Performer at the Mid-American Conference Championships, earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the high jump. The rookie cleared a height of 6'-01.50" in the to tie the Kent State school record. Delophont is only the second Kent State athlete to earn All-America accolades in the event, joining Alex Church, who did so in 2003.
"She did a great job," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Bill Lawson. "It was her first national championship and she competed like a veteran. To earn fifth place in her first NCAA Championships is just an outstanding performance and is a tribute to what kind of athlete she really is."
Arizona senior Brigetta Barrett won the event title with a 6-04.75 (1.95,), followed by East Carolina senior Tynita Butts in second place with a 6-02.75 (1.90m).
Delephont will now prepare for the triple jump competition beginning at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Sawnor, coming off a personal-best 800m time at last week's Alex Wilson Invitational, will not advance to the finals after placing sixth in her heat and 13th overall with a time of 2:08.48.
Duffus, who had one of the best performances of her career after setting two Kent State records last weekend at the Alex Wilson Invitational, leaped 19'-06.00" in the long jump this evening and also finished 13th.
![Four Kent State track and field athletes pose together on the awards podium wearing light blue Under Armour uniforms and gold MAC Championship medals. Left to right: Chaz Sakala (bib 1196), Sean [last name partially visible] (bib 1157, holding a relay baton), Ryan Gross (bib 1167), and Jacob Stanley (bib 1192). The group smiles for the camera following their relay event at the MAC Outdoor Championships.](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fkentstatesports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F5%2F21%2FIMG_2657.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
