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Sports TwitterMU junior Kristina Bolterstein first high jump All-American in program history
Friday, June 15, 2007
Miami University junior Kristina Bolterstein wanted to make some noise at last week's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Although she finished 14th in the women's high jump, she came home as the first high jump All-American in program history.
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She earned All-American status and became the first Miami All-American since Andrea Kremer in 2003. Bolterstein was the eighth American high jump finisher in a 14-athlete field that included six international competitors.
"I found out on (May 29) when I was at work," said Bolterstein of learning she had qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Bolterstein, who majors in zoology and environmental sciences, is doing summer research on a species of plankton.
"My coach called me and told me to check the results," she said. "I screamed and scared everybody in Pearson Hall."
Bolterstein, a native of Middleburg, earned an at-large bid based on her school-record leap of 5 feet, 10¾ inches at the Stan Lyons Invitational on April 28.
The high jump competition, which consists of 28 athletes, began with qualifying sessions at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon last week with the finals Friday afternoon.
"I definitely want to make the finals, which is the top eight," Bolterstein said before heading West. "I want to be an all-American."
Goal achieved.
Bolterstein advanced to the national high jump finals after tying Miami's outdoor school record with a preliminary round clearance of 5-10¾. Once in the finals, Bolterstein cleared the opening height of 5-8½ before missing on all three attempts at 5-9¾. Bolterstein was the only athlete from the Mid-American Conference to advance to the high jump finals and one of four athletes from non-BCS conference schools to finish among the top 14.
The All-America honor capped a successful junior campaign for Bolterstein.
The 14th-place national finish gave Bolterstein her second top 20 national finish during the 2006-07 season. Bolterstein also nationally qualified during the indoor season and placed 17th.
Bolterstein said she wants to work, one day, for the Environmental Protection Agency or one of the park services. But she might not want her athletic career to end with her college diploma.
"I'm actually considering competing professionally for a while," she said.
Bolterstein began competing in track when she was in the third grade, and before long she began to specialize in the long jump.
"It was fun, and everything's more fun if you're good at it," she said. "I like it because it's different. It's kind of a gymnastics event, and I had taken gymnastics when I was younger. I've always been very athletic."
The daughter of Joseph and Nancy Bolterstein finished third in the high jump in the Division I state meet as a freshman at Midpark High School and became an Ohio state champion as a senior.
She broke the Miami indoor record earlier this year with a jump of 6-1½ and qualified for the indoor nationals, where she finished 17th. She is the two-time defending Mid-American Conference indoor champion and was runner-up at this year's MAC outdoor meet.
Bolterstein is the eighth Miami athlete in the last five years to qualify for the outdoor nationals.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
