Maya Evans went 20-01 to win a national title in the long jump at New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Maya Evans entered the long jump at New Balance Nationals Outdoor 10-for-10 on the season. At stake was her unblemished record, along with a national title.
If she had nerves, they never flared to the surface, because the Lutheran grad did what she's done all season long: win.
Evans went 20-01 to claim the national title over Titiana Marsh, who went 19-9.75. The win kept Evans clear in 1s, as she is now 11-for-11 in the long jump.
Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the last time Evans lost a long jump outdoors, it was at this meet when she was a sophomore (she placed second then). So that makes her tally of consecutive outdoor long jump wins at 19.
In the final day of competition, several of Colorado's best went head-to-head with the best in the country.
In the 400 hurdles Emily Sloan capped her long weekend with a sixth-place finish, running 59.73. She was less than a second out of the win, as the top-six went under the magical minute barrier. The race was won by Reanda Richards in 58.91.
Marlena Preigh was part of a historic mile that saw sophomore Katelyn Tuohy smash the national record in the event by two seconds. Touhy ran 4:33 to dominate the field by 16 seconds. Preigh cruised through the opening laps on 4:48 pace, but the hot pace caught up to her in the final laps, as she crossed the finish line in 5:04 for 16th.
In the high jump Riley Masten competed in a very tough, and very large field. Masten went 5-3 to tie for 33rd.
In the Emerging Elite competitions, Naomi Harding led the way in the mile with a fifth-place finish, running 5:00.