New Orleans, LA — On the heels of becoming Messiah’s first individual to win dual national championships in any sport, the honors and awards continue to pile in for senior Kristen Bates.
Bates won both the open 55-meter hurdles and the pentathlon at the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships at DePauw University last weekend, claiming both those championships in NCAA Division III season-best marks.
This week, Bates was further honored, being named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet and the USTFCCA Division III Field Athlete of the Year — the highest possible individual honors in the sport.
“These are tremendous honors for Kristen,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “I appreciate her trust in her coaches, her training and her ability. At the national meet, she performed at or near her bests in most of her events. Her character, faith and dedication to quality results are a blessing and an example to all.”
Bates was the high-point scorer — male or female — at the indoor championships, helping Messiah to a school-record 20 total points and fourth-place team finish.
No other athlete earned more than 16 points at the meet.
Her athlete of the meet award was a first in Messiah track & field history, while her USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year honor was the first since ‘08 grad Amy Reed earned the 2008 Outdoor Track & Field award.
Bates won the 55-meter hurdles in a championship time of :08.00 last Saturday. Her :07.89 clip in the prelims shattered her previous school record :08.06, and was the third-fastest time in the history of the NCAA Division III Championships.
In the pentathlon, Bates utilized an NCAA Division III-record 1,013 points in the 55-meter hurdles event to finish with a school-record 3,555 points overall — also the second-highest mark in NCAA Division III Championships history.
“She possessed amazing composure being able to focus on one quality performance at a time in a day of six events,” Fogelsanger said of Bates’ dual titles.
Salisbury University’s Delannie Spriggs was named the USTFCCCA’s National Male Track Athlete of the Year and North Central College’s Jake Winder the National Male Field Athlete of the Year. Marie Borner of Bethel University joned Bates on the women’s side, being named the National Female Track Athlete of the Year.
At the national championships, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Ben Zill was named the Male Track Athlete of the Meet while Winder earned Male Field Athlete of the Meet honors. Springfield College’s Nikki Hav was named the Female Field Athlete of the Meet.
Bates has been in high demand since her feat, appearing in various media pieces including local television fame.
A complete look at Bates’ nine All-American honors:
• 2010 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (First)
• 2010 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Pentathlon (First)
• 2009 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — 100-Meter Hurdles (Second)
• 2009 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — Triple Jump (Fifth)
• 2009 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (Second)
• 2009 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Pentathlon (Third)
• 2008 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — 100-Meter Hurdles (Fourth)
• 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (Fourth)
• 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Triple Jump (Third)