After missing her mark the previous two years, senior Jeannelle Scheper has finally done it: She is the NCAA champion in women’s high jump.
The gold medal didn’t come easily, though. Scheper endured some pesky competition on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon, especially from Kansas State’s Kimberly Williamson. Scheper and Williamson were the only two jumpers to clear 1.90 meters while Georgia’s Leontia Kallenou and Kansas States’s Akela Jones both failed to get over the bar. Both Scheper and Williamson failed on their first two attempts at 1.90 meters, but Scheper didn’t even have to complete that height as Williamson missed her third jump.
Scheper has cleared the 1.93 mark in the past, so not being able to clear it on Saturday perturbed her a bit.
“Today was a little bit of a rough day,” Scheper said after the win. “I was a little bit annoyed that I didn’t clear that last bar, cause that's a bar I’ve cleared many times. I knew I could have done it ... but I’m just excited to have the win.”
Scheper deserved the win with all that she accomplished this season. The Saint Lucia native won all five of her regular season meets as well as an SEC championship where she hit a lifetime best of 1.96 meters. That 1.96 is a school record for women’s high jump, breaking her previous school record by .01 meter. A 1.96 would have also placed her in the top nine at the 2012 London Olympic games.
Track and field’s head coach Curtis Frye agrees that Scheper’s win is justified by the year she was having.
“It's a culmination of what should happen when you have a great support system and a great subject,” Frye said. “She came here at 16 years old, she's a model student and a model person. That's what should happen … I'm thrilled, it couldn't have happened to a better role model.”
Scheper will most likely compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships later in June and hopefully earn a spot on the 2015 IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) World Championship team.