Donning DePauw's traditional tiger-striped jersey, senior Courtney Lauer sprinted, jumped and threw her way to the second All-American honor of her career this weekend.
The St. Louis native scored 3,395 points to finish fourth in the nation in the women's pentathlon Friday at the NCAA Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Lauer shattered her own school record with her performance, while also establishing new personal bests in three of the five events.
Standing on the podium Friday after the six-hour competition concluded, Lauer was proud to be representing DePauw with a top finish among the best athletes in the country.
"Anytime you get on the podium at nationals, it's always exciting," she said. "It's not like your incoming score gets you anywhere — you have to do it all over again...Everyone knew that I could get there, I just had to do it."
Seeded third entering the meet, Friday's competition began with Lauer posting a new personal best in the 55-meter hurdles at 9.20 seconds. She then matched a personal best in the high jump, taking fifth at 1.58 meters (5-2.25).
In the shot put, Lauer finished second at 10.36 meters (34-0). That performance put her in fifth place overall with two events remaining. She moved up a spot in the standings with another career-best showing in the long jump at 5.23 meters (17-2). And in the final event of the competition, Lauer solidified her spot on the podium with yet another personal best in the 800-meter run at 2:23.69.
"The points stacked up pretty closely going into that last 800," Lauer said. "Usually there's a gap between me and the next pack of people, and they were right on my tail. People were gunning for it the whole time."
Emma Dewart of Ithaca College took home the national title with a score of 3,535 points. Janey Helland of Gustavus Adolphus College came in second at 3,526 points, while Baldwin-Wallace College's Emily Oliver placed third at 3,411 points.
Lauer's All-American performance was the second of her college track and field career. She finished sixth in the heptathlon at last year's NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track and Field Championships after competing in the event for the first time that season.
"We've never had a multi-event athlete get anywhere near nationals, let alone be All-American," said assistant coach Peter Crary, who guides Lauer in the jumping events. "She has worked very hard the last few years to get to that point."
Lauer proved a fast learner again this winter, qualifying for this weekend's national meet in her first indoor season. A member of the women's basketball team for the past three years, Lauer suffered a shoulder injury last spring that kept her off the court this season. Despite being disappointed in missing the final season of her basketball career, she turned to the pentathlon because of its similarity to the heptathlon.
"It always stinks to end a sporting career, but it's not like I didn't have something else waiting for me," Lauer said. I miss playing [basketball], but at the same time, the success I've had in track really helps me feel better about it."
Head coach Kori Stoffregen said Lauer's work ethic and humble demeanor have also contributed to her athletic success.
"[We're proud of] how well she did not just in her end result, but in how she conducts herself," Stoffregen said. "She's very professional and works very hard in practice and does a lot of the extra stuff."
With one of her goals accomplished, Lauer will now move outdoors to train for the heptathlon. She hopes to return to the national stage in May, wearing the tiger-striped uniform, to go for another All-American trophy.