After topping her previous score in the women's pentathlon, senior Courtney Lauer will be headed to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to compete at the NCAA Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Lauer scored 3,361 points to win the pentathlon Friday at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Karl Schlender Multi-Event Last Chance Meet. She took first in the high jump at 1.55 meters (5-1.00), as well as in the 800-meter run (2:23.47). Lauer also finished second in the long jump at 5.21 meters (17-1.25) and third in the shot put at 10.72 meters (35-2.00).
Lauer's score of 3,361 marked a 218-point improvement over her second-place performance at the Ohio Wesleyan Pentathlon on Feb.19. In Friday's first two events – the 55-meter hurdles and the high jump – Lauer totaled 189 more points than her previous performance.
"I had a really good start," she said. "The day just got better from there."
Now ranked third nationally in the pentathlon, Lauer will be representing DePauw at this weekend's NCAA Div. III Championships at Capital University. It will mark her first trip to the national indoor meet.
"It's a great honor to be at nationals," Lauer said. "I'm super excited. I'm having trouble focusing on anything else."