WAVERLY, Iowa – Krista Snyder put a bow on her outstanding career by placing 21st overall in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships on the campus of Wartburg College.
The senior captain of the Ursinus College women's track and field team, an all-region honoree in both the indoor and outdoor heptathlon, is the only student-athlete in program history to compete in the event at the NCAA championships.
Snyder completed her historic experience with 3969 points. After placing no higher than 18th in any of Thursday's four events, she finished 9th, 15th, and 7th in the final three legs.
Carleton's Amelia Campbell took home the championship with 5108 points, while Wooster's Hilary Coady was second with 5020 and Illinois Wesleyan's Jill Harmon placed third with 4813. Johns Hopkins' Jenn Su, Snyder's Centennial Conference counterpart, finished fifth.
Entering Friday's action in 21st place, Snyder started her upward climb with an impressive showing in the long jump, registering a 16-7.75 on her second attempt to land in ninth. She came back to post a 90-7.50 in the javelin, which was good for 15th. Snyder improved her mark on each off her three throws, elevating from an 86-5.50 to an 88-9.00 before tacking on nearly two feet on her final heave.
Closing her collegiate career in style, Snyder ran a 2:28.89 to place seventh in the 800 meters.
Snyder leaves Ursinus with school records in the outdoor pentathlon and long jump and the indoor pentathlon. She was the heptathlon champion at the 2015 Centennial Conference outdoor championship and was runner-up this season, and Snyder placed second in the pentathlon at this year's indoor championship.
The recipient of the Olive Sargeant Hamm Award, given annually to a senior woman who exemplifies "the best in college life - athletically, socially, and scholastically," Snyder personified the Division III model of a student-athlete. A neurology major, Snyder was involved in Summer Fellows research and the Harvard Secondary School program, worked at the Berman art museum, served as a teaching assistant, and was a member of USGA, Omega Chi, J-Board, Airband, and the Reimert committee in addition to being a team captain.
