NMHU track and field All-American Angella Graham added to her illustrious career by earning two more All-American awards at the 2010 NCAA II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Charlotte, NC May 27-29th. Graham, a senior from Trelawney, Jamaica, placed fifth in the Triple Jump and sixth in the Heptathlon to boost her career All-American trophy haul to seven in her two years as a member of the NMHU program.
Graham once again broke her school record in the Heptathlon at the national meet.—totaling 5,288 points for the grueling two-day event. “Angella has completed five heptathlons in the last two years, “noted HU coach Bob DeVries, “and she has broken the record every single time.” Graham placed seventh at the 2009 championship meet with a score of 5, 026.
Coming into the national meet seeded 12th among the 16 competitors, Graham got out to a great start with a near PR in the hurdles (14.29) and strong performances in the HJ (1.67 meters/5-5 ¾), SP (11.42 meters/37-6), and 200 meter dash (24.59) to finish day one in sixth position. Day two began with the long jump—expected to be a strong event for the HU senior, but a mediocre 5.40 meter (17-8 ¾) jump ranked her 12th in that event and pushed her back to seventh overall.
Graham bounced back in the javelin. While the event is not normally an exceptionally strong event for her, Graham took control with an opening throw of 34.12 meters (111-11). “That throw really put the pressure on the other competitors,” said DeVries, “She was the very first thrower and opened with a big toss.” Graham would finish third in the javelin and vault into third place overall with one event remaining.
The final event of the heptathlon is the 800 meters, an event Graham has struggled with in 2010. “At the indoor nationals, girls 200 points behind Angella beat her by enough in the 800 to pass her in the standings, so yes, I was nervous,” said her coach. But the HU standout ran the best 800 of her life (2:25.3) to hang on to a solid sixth place finish in the toughest heptathlon in NCAA II history.
Graham followed the heptathlon performance with a gritty triple jump competition the following day. Tired from the two-day heptathlon and struggling with an ankle that got progressively worse throughout the meet, Graham popped a 12.24 meter (40-2) jump on her first attempt. The jump was an outdoor season best for Graham and placed her third going into the finals of the event. “Angella gave it her all on that first jump,” said HU assistant coach Patrick Johnson. Graham would slide back to fifth in the final three rounds but come home from North Carolina a double All-American.