When fifth-year senior Amanda Barnhart competed in the 2008 Midwest Regional Chamionships last weekend, she wanted to end her career with the greatest performance of her life.
While achieving her personal best with a jump of 20-9 3/4, the Ball State University long jumper was also able to prolong her collegiate career. Barnhart finished sixth in the long jump, good enough to earn her first spot as an at-large bid into the NCAA Championships.
Barnhart competed with her teammate, 100-meter hurdler Katie Johnson, who also recorded a personal best with a time of 13.61 seconds and a 21st-place finish.
"It's always a good situation when you have two performers have lifetime bests on that stage," coach Randy Heisler said. "It bodes well for the program and for both of them."
The top five seeds in regional events across the country earn an automatic advancement into the NCAA Championships, which will take place June 12-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The fields in each event fill out with the top performances that did not land top-five placings.
Coach Randy Heisler said Barnhart had the best jump of any sixth-place finisher in four regionals across the country, and her distance was even better than some fifth-place performers.
The success follows a rough patch from earlier in the season, when Barnhart struggled to jump distances that met her standards. Heisler said Barnhart's perseverance is what allowed her to make it to her first national championship meet, but the coach also had sound advice for the athlete.
"I told her, you know, 'We're not going to reinvent the long jump,'" Heisler said. "'You've been doing this a long time; you need to just keep jumping."
Even though Barnhart is seeded with the 24th-longest jump, Heisler said he believes Barnhart is capable of jumping as long as 22 feet.
That distance would not only break the school's record, it would also compete for a spot in the finals.
Watching Barnhart compete throughout her career, Heisler said he's learned not to count any athlete out.
"Fear is a tremendous emotion that can really work for people," Heisler said. "Maybe fear's not the right word ... anxiety? Whatever sports psychologists say goes on in an athlete's mind. They don't want to fail, and Amanda never does."
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