A DIII Top 5 Heptathlon Performance
Mikayla Forness earned her second straight All-MIAC honor in the heptathlon
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (5/06/16)—Mikayla Forness earned her second straight MIAC All-Conference honor in the heptathlon honor as she placed second at this year's conference multi-event competition.
Forness, who placed third at last year's MIAC heptathlon, finished the seven events with 4,580 points which is the fifth highest total in all of NCAA Division III this year. It is also a personal record for Forness and the fourth best in school history. The athletes with the 21 highest point totals in the nation earn a spot at the NCAA outdoor meet so Forness is in a good spot to claim a spot at nationals.
Forness was one of two Cobber athletes competing at the conference heptathlon. Senior Anna Skow-Anderson rebounded from a terrible fall in the very first event of the competition and rallied to pull off a 10th-place finish.
Forness entered the second day of the heptathlon in fifth place with a total of 2,551 points and was 120 points out of second place.
She started the day slowly by earning 474 points in the long jump but then exploded in the javelin throw with a distance of 145-03. That mark put up 749 points in her total column and jumped her all the way into second place. Forness' main event in the outdoor season is the javelin and she entered the weekend with the farthest throw in the conference this season. Her huge toss in the heptathlon javelin outdistanced her previous season best by over two feet.
Forness' mark in the javelin is the sixth farthest in Division III this year and the second best in school history. She missed tying the school record by a mere 17 inches.
Fueled by the adrenaline from her near school-record javelin throw, Forness went out and finished the heptathlon by posting a career best time in the 800 meters. She crossed the line in 2:21.28 which beat her previous season best time by 3.4 seconds. Her time in the final event was the second fastest of any competitor in the heptathlon and earned her 806 points. That point total was the highest of any of the seven events in the heptathlon for Forness.
Skow-Anderson refused to let the event-crushing fall ruin her final conference multi-event competition. Bruised and sore, she came out and moved up one spot in the final standings over a competitor who had at least 325 points in all seven events.
Skow-Anderson's fall in the 100-meter hurdles netted her only one point but she made up for that on Day 2 by posting a pair of event totals in the 500's and another with 431 points.
She jumped 15-11.75 in the long jump to start the second day and that gave her 524 points. She then earned 431 points in the javelin before finishing off the day with a time of 2:38.63 in the 800 meters which was good for 589 points. Her time in the 800 meters is a season best and testament to her fighting spirit.
WHAT'S NEXT
Forness and Skow-Anderson will join the rest of their teammates in Moorhead when the Cobbers compete at the annual Ron Masanz Meet held at MSU Moorhead on Saturday, May 7 beginning at 9 a.m.