A disappointing weekend at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. came to a disappointing end for Iowa State late Saturday.

Five-time All-American and four-time Big 12 champion high jumper Gina Rickert finished in 12th place in her final competition as a Cyclone.

Rickert had qualified for the national finals Thursday with a jump of 5—10 3/4 in the qualifying round.

Saturday, Rickert missed three times at that height while dealing with the effects of a stress fracture in her jumping foot.

She settled for a jump of 5—8 3/4.

“She’s been injured all outdoor season,” said ISU jumps coach Ron McEachran. “It really showed up Saturday.”

McEachran said Rickert jumped well Thursday but struggled on just one day’s rest for the finals competition.

“It was really sad for her, because she was ready [to compete],” he said.

Rickert was ranked fifth nationally heading into the meet.

McEachran added that the nature of the high jump makes injuries more troublesome for the best jumpers, because they put more stress on their bodies by leaping higher.

“She had a great career,” he said. “The body kind of held her back a little bit.”

Washington State senior Whitney Evans won the high jump championship on fewest misses with a leap of 6—1 1/4.

Rickert’s next competition will not take place in an ISU uniform. She plans to compete in the 2003 U.S. Nationals Thursday through Sunday at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., although her injury may keep her out of the competition.

McEachran said a decision on that meet will be made this week.

Rickert set an ISU record with a jump of 6—3 1/4 Feb. 15 at the ISU Classic, held in the Lied Recreation Center.

That jump also qualified her for the 2004 Olympic Trials, which will be held next July.

Earlier in the week, junior Susan Sherman and freshman Rebecca Williams competed in preliminary rounds in the discus and 100-meter hurdles, respectively. Neither advanced to later rounds of competition.

Sherman threw 154—0 to finish 18th and Williams ran 14.14 seconds for 26th place.

Rickert, Sherman, Williams, and head women’s track and field coach Dick Lee could not be reached for comment Monday.