Wyatt falls short of All-American honor in front of home crowd

Pack senior turns in 11th place finish in triple jump.

PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - May 25, 2012) - CSU-Pueblo senior Danita Wyatt (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) fell just shy of the finals in the triple jump and a chance to get on the podium in her home stadium at the NCAA Division II National Track and Field Championships.

Wyatt could only get off three jumps, peaking with a jump of 39 feet, 6-3/4 inches, as she couldn't scrap her way into the finals and a chance to bring home a national title and her second straight triple jump All-American honor.

The 2011 All-American began couldn't break 40 feet, scratching one of her jumps.  On her final jump, she jumped well behind the board, robbing herself of a longer jump and possibly a chance for the finals. 

"It was a lot of pressure, trying to perform in front of the home crowd, and it might have gotten to her," CSU-Pueblo head track coach Chad Perry said.  "The last three meets, she set personal bests and broke school records, and her run just came to an end."

With the conclusion of the triple jump, Wyatt's career at CSU-Pueblo concludes as we underwent a major transformation to become the face of the program.  After a freshman season in 2008-09 in which she was barely a blip on the RMAC's radar, she trained to become the program's first All-American since 1993, win the 2012 RMAC heptathlon championship, as establish herself as arguably the finest track athlete in program history.

"I would definitely take 25 more like her," Perry said.  "Her career has put this entire program over the hump and helped establish a culture and work ethic that will carry over to current and future athletes in our program."

The NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, held at CSU-Pueblo's Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl, concludes Saturday.  Because of expected high winds, the men's pole vault has been rescheduled from 4:50 p.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the women's high jump has been rescheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 11 a.m.