Three Iowa State seniors earned All-American honors at last week’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but Mother Nature may have prevented them from bringing home a national championship.

Gina Curtis, who went into the meet ranked first nationally in the high jump, earned a third-place finish to earn All-American status for the fourth time.

In rainy jumping conditions, Curtis cleared 5-10 1/2, falling short of her qualifying jump of 6-1 1/4 at the Big 12 Championships.

ISU women’s track and field coach Dick Lee said the rain was a definite factor. He said Curtis probably would have placed higher without the inclement weather.

“We just didn’t get good conditions for her to jump,” Lee said. “It wasn’t a very athlete-friendly environment set up by the officials. They made it very difficult for the high jumpers. Unfortunately, that was the only day we battled rain at the track.”

Curtis has had multiple knee surgeries and Lee said wet conditions and the status of her knee made for a nasty combination.

“Wet conditions are something that make it a little tentative for her with jumping,” Lee said. “Even though that’s not her jump leg, she’s still having to run the turn aggressively.”

Nevertheless, assistant track coach Ron McEachran said Curtis ranks very high among the determined athletes he’s coached.

“I’ve never had anybody that’s ever had four surgeries and has competed at this high of level,” McEachran said. “With her being a four-time All-American, it says a lot about her.”

Curtis said she was a little disappointed after missing her last jump, but quickly realized that she had still achieved one of her goals.

“As I was taking off my spikes I thought . I’m leaving an All-American,” Curtis said. “And going into it, that was one of my goals.”

Fellow Cyclone Barbara Szlendakova placed fourth in the heptathlon with a season-best score of 5,616 points. Her second-place finish in the long jump portion and personal record in the 800 meters helped her earn her second All-American honors.

Lisa Griebel also fared well at the meet. The senior became an All-American for the sixth time in the shot put Saturday. Her season-best throw of 53-11 3/4 earned her seventh place.

Lenka Kalabova just missed earning All-American honors with her ninth-place finish in the 800-meter run. Kalabova, also a senior, ran a 2:07.45 in the final, a couple seconds off of her preliminary time of 2:04.53.

“I was the last one to make nationals,” Kalabova said. “I wanted to make it to finals and I [ran a personal record] by almost a second to do it. It was a great accomplishment. I surprised everybody, including myself.”

Despite the surprise of advancing, Kalabova said she gave it her all in the finals.

“Like Coach said, I gave it my best,” Kalabova said. “It was a rough race and I got boxed in on lane one. Nobody would let me go, obviously, and it was hard to finish it up as I wanted.”

Kalabova remained optimistic about her performance.

“I made it to nationals, I made it to finals, I ran a personal record – I was happy,” she said.

The finals marked Kalabova’s last race for Iowa State, but she plans on coming back to train at Iowa State and competing unattached in meets.

Overall, she felt the choice of coming to Iowa State was a good one.

“I was very happy to find a coach who knew I couldn’t run more than twice a week and had a good strategy,” Kalabova said. “And I met people here that I want to be friends with for the rest of my life.”

Lee said he felt the meet went well for his team, especially since the final team results had Iowa State at 19th.

“We were pleased with our performances,” Lee said. “Finishing in the top 20 in the nation is exciting for us.

“On the women’s side, all of our kids did a good job of competing, as they have all season long.”

Two members of the ISU men’s track team also competed in the national competition as well.

Mike Mwangong placed 14th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:17.11 and Joey Brunkhorst cleared 6-10 3/4 in high jump competition.

Brunkhorst leaves Iowa State ranked second on the all-time high jump list.

ONE MORE YEAR

McEachran said although Curtis is a senior, she has been granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA.

McEachran said he was pleased with the decision and will welcome Curtis back with open arms.

“She’s been an inspiration to a lot of kids on the team,” McEachran said. “I think if you look at her history and her courage . it certainly indicates that it can turn out well for you.”