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EAST STROUDSBURG - Sophomore high jumper
Christina O'Connor will represent East Stroudsburg University at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama.
O'Connor (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta), tied for fifth on the DII list, will make her first career appearance for ESU at the national level. She was a provisional qualifier indoors as a freshman.
She recorded her top mark of the season at 5-8 1/2 (1.74m) at ESU's DeSchriver Invitational on February 2.
O'Connor won the PSAC championship on February 24 at Edinboro, clearing 5-7 3/4, and will be one of four PSAC athletes participating on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT). Slippery Rock's Ashley West, the PSAC runner-up, joins O'Connor on the list at 5-8 1/2, followed by Shippensburg's Erin Flick (5-7) and Lock Haven's Brittany Whitmer (5-6 1/2).
She won five individual titles this year - Kutztown, Ursinus, ESU, Susquehanna and the PSAC - and cleared at least 5-7 1/4 on four occasions.
O'Connor is the sixth ESU women's high jumper to be selected to the NCAA Championships and will aim to become the fifth All-American in the event. The top eight finishers, including ties, receive All-America recognition.
Her high jump coach, Karen (Way) Gaita '91, was ESU's first All-American in the women's high jump. She earned four All-America honors, including indoors in 1989 and 1991, and was the 1991 NCAA outdoor champion.
She follows Lynn Mayer, a six-time All-American and seven-time national qualifier (2008-11), and Janelle Smith, a four-time national qualifier (2008-10), as recent ESU national qualifiers in the event. Other All-Americans were Shavanna Ross (2001) and Leslie Martin (2007).
O'Connor will compete against a field that includes five All-Americans. Barbara Szabo (Western State), a three-time All-American, is the two-time defending NCAA indoor champion and has a nation's best mark at 6-3 1/2.
Erin Alewine (Central Missouri) is a three-time All-American and tied with O'Connor at 5-8 1/2 on the DII list. Lacey Rhodes (Central Oklahoma) is a two-time All-American, Jennifer Foster (Ashland) was fourth outdoors last year and second on the national list at 5-11 1/4, and Samantha Alvarez (Texas A&M-Kingsville) was runner-up outdoors in 2011.
