BOSTON, Ma – Wichita State junior
Destiny Masters placed sixth in the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning First Team All-America status and breaking her own Shocker pentathlon record.
"I simply cannot say enough about how proud I am of Destiny and how far she has come, head coach
Steve Rainbolt said. "To go to this meet and compete in a multi-event competition for the first time on this stage and score a personal record is truly remarkable, and I could not be happier for her."
Masters scored 4,338 points with three personal bests on her first day of competition at the national meet. She opened the competition with a personal-best time of 8.32 in the 60-meter hurdles, winning her heat and starting the day in third overall with 1,057 points.
In the high jump, her best event, she cleared 1.84m/6'0.5 (1,029 points), the best mark of the day to take the overall lead with 2,086 points.
She dropped to second after throwing 11.61m/38'1.25" in the shot put, but jumped a personal-best 6.06m/19'10.75", the sixth-farthest mark in Shocker history, in the long jump to maintain her second-place positioning going into the final event.
The 800 meters has always proven to be the toughest event for Masters, but she ran a personal-best 2:25.62 to stay in the top eight overall and earn First Team All-America recognition.
"She truly went birdie, birdie, bogey, birdie, birdie, which is an unbelievable showing for your first time at this level," Rainbolt said. "I'm just overwhelmed and really, really happy for Destiny."
Masters is the first-ever Shocker to be named First Team All-American in the pentathlon and just the 11
th Wichita State woman in any event to place in the top eight.
"I am so grateful and blessed to have this opportunity," Masters said. "I was just trying to be in the moment with each event and do my best, one by one."
This is her first NCAA indoor All-America honor and second overall after being named a Second Team All-American in the outdoor high jump a season ago.
Masters continues her NCAA Indoor Championships competition with the open high jump Saturday at noon CT.
