Berea, OH — The career of Messiah senior Kristen Bates came to an end Saturday at Baldwin-Wallace College’s Finnie Stadium. It’s doubtful her legacy will ever fade away.
Bates won the 100-meter hurdles competition and finished sixth in the triple jump at the 2010 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Saturday afternoon, securing her third national championship and 10th and 11th All-American honors overall.
The Landisburg, Pa. native breezed to a time of :13.83 in the championship heat — an exact replica of her school-record pace in Friday’s prelims.
That mark stood as the fourth-quickest 100-meter hurdles time ever run in NCAA Division III history, while it broke a 21-year old stadium record.
It also further separated Bates in the Messiah record books, as she graduates as the most decorated individual athlete in the school’s history.
“It’s been an absolute honor to work with her,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “With Kristen, there’s no bravado, just humility. She’s thankful for the gifts she’s been given, and she loves the people she competes against.”
After dusting the field in Friday’s trials on a gorgeous afternoon, the weather cooperated again Saturday: Sunny skies coupled with a light breeze to keep temperatures in the low 80’s, and Bates took advantage.
The eight-athlete field stayed close to Bates until about the third hurdle, where the 5-3 senior began to open up a lead. By the sixth hurdle, the gap widened, and Bates cruised to the finish line well ahead of Williams College’s Elise Johnson (:14.06) and Illinois Weselyan University’s Amanda LaRocca (:14.10), the second- and third-place finishers, respectively. Her :13.83 clip erased the previous Finnie Stadium record of :13.88, set by Lincoln University’s Rhondale Jones back in 1999.
“To be honest, Kristen’s open 100 time is not that fast, comparatively,” Fogelsanger said. “She’s such a technician in the hurdles, though. She just sprints in between and gets up and down really quickly.”
Putting on a pair of baggy athletic shorts before taking the medal stand, Bates was a picture of pure happiness — an incandescent smile refusing to leave her face.
It was a vastly different feeling than before either Friday or Saturday’s runs began, however.
“I didn’t really feel all that great before either race,” Bates said. “I didn’t feel the way I do before I think I’m about to run the race of my life. Obviously, this was a little different, since it was the last time I would be doing this, so maybe that had something to do with it. I’ve had to rely on God a lot this year, though, so that’s what I did.”
Perhaps the only glimmer of disapppointment in Bates’ day came in the triple jump, where she could not duplicate her school-record and liftetime-best mark of 12.12 meters (39 feet, 9 inches), which she set just last week at The College of New Jersey Last Chance meet.
Bates cleared a distance of 11.76 meters (38 feet, 7 inches) in the trials to qualify for the finals, but could only generate a leap of 11.82 meters (38 feet, 9 inches) on her final effort of the day — good for sixth place in the nine-athlete field.
Bates entered the event as the number two seed behind Williams’ Tanasia Hoffler, who boasted a season-best mark of 12.16 meters (39 feet, 10 and ¾ inches) — just four centimeters better than Bates’ TCNJ finish.
Hoffler erupted in Saturday’s finals, however, covering a monstrous 12.46 meters (40 feet, 10 and ½ inches) in her final attempt, winning the championship by almost half a meter. Had Bates been able to replicate her 12.12-meter leap Saturday, she would have finished second.
Her efforts still landed her with a program-record 11th All-American honor, however, as the top eight finishers earn that accolade.
“I was a little disappointed, but stuff like that happens,” Bates said. “Jumps can be a little fickle, and you can’t dwell on it. I would have liked to have jumped further, but overall the weekend was such a blessing.”
Messiah finished in 21st place within the team standings as a result of Bates’ day, earning 13 points. Illinois Wesleyan took home the women’s team championship, finishing with 54 points overall.
Bates, however, concluded a remarkable career in astounding style, complementing her 55-meter hurdles and pentathlon titles — which she claimed in this winter’s Indoor Track & Field National Championships — with her 100-meter hurdles trophy.
“I think, because of what I did at indoors this year, I may have felt more stressed going into this weekend,” she said. “The precedent had beeen set. It wasn’t just, ‘Do your best,’ but it was ‘Do your best, and your best should be good enough to win.’ Maybe those extra thoughts were why I didn’t feel good going in. But one of my favorite Bible verses this year has been ‘for when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10). Before the finals, all of us (competitors) got together and prayed on the starting line. I think that really helped me.”
It’s been a steady road of improvement for the basketball player turned track star, as Bates’ first taste of All-American status came as a sophomore. She finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the 55-meter hurdles during the indoor season, then took fourth in the 100-meter hurdles at the outdoor championships.
As a junior, Bates exploded, earning four more All-American honors: She finished runner-up in both the outdoor 100-meter hurdles and the indoor 55-meter hurdles, taking third in the indoor pentathlon and fifth in the outdoor triple jump.
Following her triad of gold trophies this year, Bates joins Amy Reed (2008 outdoor track & field heptathlon) and current assistant coach Chris Boyles (2002 outdoor track & field decathlon) as the only Messiah track athletes to claim national championships. Mike Helm is the only other individual athlete to win a national title in school history, earning the 157-pound title in the 2000 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships.
Bates is Messiah’s first athlete — in any sport — to claim multiple individual national titles. Her 11 All-American honors came in 14 national championship event appearances.
“My whole senior year, our coaches asked us to think about what type of legacy you’ll leave,” she said. “I just hope that I’ve helped some of the younger kids in the program. (2008 grad) Amy Reed called me every day for the last week, encouraging me, and she graduated two years ago. I just hope that I can give back in that way, somehow.”
A complete look at Bates’ 11 All-American honors:
• 2010 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — 100-Meter Hurdles (First; time of :13.88)
• 2010 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — Triple Jump (Sixth; jump of 38 feet, 9 inches)
• 2010 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (First; time of :08.00)
• 2010 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Pentathlon (First; total of 3,555 points)
• 2009 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — 100-Meter Hurdles (Second; time of :14.07)
• 2009 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — Triple Jump (Fifth; jump of 39 feet, 3 and 3/4 inches)
• 2009 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (Second; time of :08.11)
• 2009 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Pentathlon (Third; total of 3,394 points)
• 2008 Outdoor Track & Field Championships — 100-Meter Hurdles (Fourth; time of :14.24)
• 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships — 55-Meter Hurdles (Fourth; time of :08.18)
• 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships — Triple Jump (Third; jump of 38 feet, 2 inches)