PITTSBURG, KS – Matching the top mark of her career, University of Mary senior Arianna Passeri finished third in the long jump at the 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field to earn All-American honors for the 3^rd time in her career.
 
Ranked third in the nation after winning the Northern Sun championship two weeks prior, Passeri opened the day with an effort of 6.05 meters to easily move to the finals. The native of Rosemount, MN, then connected on a jump of 6.08 meters on her fourth attempt of the day.
 
Passeri's fifth attempt of the day proved special as she launched herself 6.20 meters to briefly move into second place. Her effort equaled her school record as Passeri claimed her third All-American honor.
 
Passeri finished 6^th at the 2023 NCAA indoor championship before claiming third at the NCAA outdoor championships last spring.
 
Nicole Warwick of Azusa Pacific won the indoor title as she set an NCAA Division II record with a mark of 6.55 meters with Jonon Young of Cal State Los Angeles placing second at 6.30. Tori Birden (West Georgia) was fourth (6.10 meters).   
 
"I was proud of how we competed today, even in the events that didn't go our way," said Marauders Head Track & Field Coach Cale Korbelik. "Arianna started us off with an amazing jump to tie her school record and bring home her second 3rd place at a national meet. It took lifetime bests and a national record to beat her. We couldn't be more proud of how she competed."

Elizabeth Acheson will join Passeri in competing on Championship Saturday. Passeri competes in the finals in the triple jump while Acheson will race in the 800 meter run after an impressive effort in the preliminaries.
 
Acheson earned a spot in the 800 meter finals with a record-setting performance in the second heat of the preliminaries. Despite getting cut off and tripped, Acheson picked up her pace at each split to finish in 2:09.15 to win her heat. The two-time All-American broke her own school record as she placed third overall to advance to Friday's finals.
 
"Elizabeth ran a gutsy race in the 800m where she got cut off after leading for 700m to come back and win the heat and break her school record by a huge margin!" said Korbelik. "I'm really excited to see what she can do in the final. She has the strength to finish high on the podium."
 
Three other Marauders also competed in preliminaries on day one of the NCAA indoor championships but did not advance to Saturday.
 
Racing in the women's 200 meter dash, Tionce Walrond finished the race in 24.73 seconds. Competing in her first NCAA championship, the sophomore placed 4^th in her heat and 19^th in the nation.
 
On the men's side, Raheem Taitt-Best competed twice and Diego Andres-Dougan once and did not advance.
 
Taitt-Best opened his day with the 400 meter dash, finishing in a time of 49.23 seconds. The sophomore finished third in his heat and 15^th in the country.
 
Taking to the track for the second time on Championship Friday, Taitt-Best also finished 15^th in the nation in the 200 meter dash. Competing at his second national meet and for the first time indoors, Taitt-Best was timed in 21.89 seconds and claimed second in his heat.
 
Andres-Dougan, the Marauders record-holder and NSIC champion in the 60 meter hurdles, just missed advancing to the championship race by .01 seconds. The junior racing at the NCAA championships for the first time cleared the barriers in 7.899 seconds, finishing .006 out of 9^th place and .01 out of 8^th place and advancing to the finals.
 
"Diego ran a great race, running his second best time of his career, but sadly hurdles can get in the way,: said Korbelik. "He was going too fast as he clipped the last hurdle to throw him off balance into the finish. We're really happy how he competed!
 
"Raheem and Tionce didn't have the day they wanted but they competed extremely hard for their finish. The two are still very young and gaining experience at the indoor championship is always a blessing.
 
"Track and field is beautiful sport while also being very cruel at times. This group has been an absolute blessing to have at nationals."
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday, March 9
3:05 pm – Women's Triple Jump finals – Arianna Passeri
6:35 pm – Women's 800 meter run finals
 
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