Results

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Junior Aspen Gaita closed out the indoor track & field season for East Stroudsburg University in memorable fashion.

Gaita became the 10th multiple time All-American in program history on Saturday, as she earned a sixth place finish in the pentathlon at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Her final total of 3,786 points was also well ahead of her previous ESU record of 3,701.

The Stroudsburg native achieves All-America status in the pentathlon for a second-consecutive season, as she landed on the second team with her 12th place showing at nationals last winter. Her sixth place result today is tied for the highest finish by an ESU woman at the Indoor Championships in the past seven seasons, and it is the highest ever by the Warriors in the pentathlon.

Gaita was in first place after two events, as she placed second in the 60-meter hurdles (8.68) and ninth in the high jump (5-4 1/2). Both efforts were just off her season-bests of 8.61 and 5-5, respectively.

Gaita slipped to fifth after a 12th place showing in the shot put, but a major PR of 32-3 3/4 played a role in boosting her previous school-record points total. That distance was over three feet past her previous collegiate best of 29-1 1/2.

Next up was the long jump, where Gaita took eighth place with a top mark of 18-4 1/2 which was just under her ESU record of 18-10 3/4.

Gaita concluded the multi with another big PR, as she completed the 800m in 2:23.56. That time is over 11 seconds under her previous season-best of 2:34.90, and it is nearly four seconds quicker than her old collegiate best of 2:27.55. Gaita placed 11th out of 18 competitors in today's race.

Angelo State's Kami Norton took first place overall in the pentathlon with 3,983 points. Gaita was only four points back of Seattle Pacific's Scout Cai in fifth place, and she was 10 back of Concordia-St. Paul's Kalle Burney in fourth.

ESU's women's program has now had at an All-American in seven of the last nine indoor seasons. Gaita's sixth place showing is tied with Christina O'Connor (High Jump, 2013 and 2015) for the program's highest individual finish at the Indoor Championships since Lynn Mayer was runner-up in the high jump in 2011.

Gaita and the rest of the Warriors can now look ahead to the outdoor portion of their schedule, which begins with the 49er Classic at Division I Charlotte next week. The three-day meet begins on Thursday.