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BEREA, Ohio -- Texas Lutheran freshman Briana Aiken had never competed in a long jump competition at any level before the 2010 women’s track and field season.

Today, she is a national champion.

Aiken jumped a George Finnie Stadium record 19 feet, 3-1/2 inches Thursday to win the long jump at the NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Aiken, a Pflugerville native and a Pflugerville High School product, made the championship final with a jump of 18-6 1/4. Her national championship jump of 19-3 1/2 came on her sixth and final jump of the competition. (The leap of 19-3 1/2 is also a new TLU school record.) She was in third place entering her final jump.

“It feels unbelievable,” said Aiken, who came to TLU as a pole vaulter and 400-meter runner. “I’m really excited. I didn’t even know I had won. Once they told me, I started celebrating.”

Aiken entered the national championships with the fifth-best jump in NCAA DIII – a leap of 19-2 on May 20. The jump on May 20 came a week after her first leap of more than 19 feet – a mark of 19-0 3/4 on May 13.

“Going into this (national championship) meet, I told myself that I was going to try my absolute hardest, whatever that may be,” said Aiken. “Whether I finished in last place, or if I finished in first place, I wanted to leave here knowing I did my absolute best.”

Aiken is the daughter of Christopher and Simone Aiken of Pflugerville, Texas.

The national championship for Aiken is TLU’s first individual championship in NCAA Division III in any sport.

The national title is the third NCAA DIII championship of any kind in school history, joining the 2007 women’s 4x400 meter indoor relay team and the 2008 women’s 4x100 outdoor relay team.

Aiken’s national title also raises the overall national championship number for TLU in all affiliations (NCAA Division III and NAIA). TLU’s national championship total is now up to 10.

In addition to the three NCAA DIII titles in women’s track and field, TLU won NAIA-II national titles in football in 1974 and 1975, AIAW-II national titles in women’s volleyball in 1975 and 1976, and individual NAIA golf titles from John Bohmann (1967), Cameron Beckman (1991), and Elizabeth Hoffmann (1999).

At Baldwin-Wallace College, just outside of Cleveland, Aiken edged senior Ashton May of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse by 1-1/2 inches for the title. Ashlynn Chavis, a sophomore from Methodist University, was third with a leap of 19-1 1/2.

Aiken's fellow American Southwest Conference competitor Breana Anderson-Burton, a junior from McMurry and the reigning ASC champion in the long jump, was sixth after a leap of 18-5. Fellow TLU Bulldog Devin Evans (Houston/Hightower) did not advance out of flight one. Evans had a long leap on Thursday of 17-7.

It's been a wild outdoor track and field ride for Aiken, who literally stumbled into the long jump one afternoon during a TLU practice at Seguin High School.

“One day Briana was walking by some of her teammates doing a jumping workout,” said Darlene Holland, TLU assistant coach for women’s track and field. “We asked her if she wanted to try it, and I remember her jumping so high. I looked over to Coach (Patrick) Zarate and said, ‘She’s going to be a jumper.’ He nodded and said, ‘Yes, she is.’”

Aiken has battled an ankle injury for most of the season, and she finished eighth at the ASC Championships on May 23 with a jump of 17-0 3/4. She then moved onto the national radar with a provisional qualification jump of 19-0 3/4 on May 13 and with an automatic qualification jump of 19-2 on May 20.

“She just kept getting better,” said Zarate, TLU’s head coach for women’s track and field. “She had never jumped in her life, and now she is a national champion. It’s truly incredible. We’re just very happy for her. She did a tremendous job and made the most of her opportunity. I really don’t think it has sunk in with her yet.”

Aiken still has an event left in the 2010 championships. She competes in the triple jump, along with teammate Destiny Jones (Garland/Naaman Forest), at 1:30 p.m. central on Saturday.

-Courtesy Texas Lutheran University Sports Information Department

MEET WRAP-UP:

BEREA, Ohio -- Texas Lutheran freshman Briana Aiken added a second All-America honor to her 2010 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships haul with an eighth-place finish Saturday in the triple jump.

At George Finnie Stadium at Baldwin-Wallace College, Aiken (Pflugerville/Pflugerville) recorded a personal-best jump of 38 feet, 6 3/4 inches on her sixth and final jump of the competition.

Tanasia Hoffler, a freshman from Williams College, won the triple jump national title with a jump of 40 feet, 10 inches.

Aiken won the national championship in the long jump on Thursday with a stadium and school record leap of 19-3 1/2.

TLU leaves the national championships with a national title (Aiken in the long jump) and three All-America citations (Aiken in the long jump and the triple jump, and Ligia Bolivar in the pole vault). Bolivar and Aiken set school records in the long jump and pole vault, respectively.

Bolivar (Sugar Land/Travis) tied for eighth in the pole vault on Thursday with a clearance of 12-2 3/4.

TLU finished 27th in the final team standings at the national championships.
 
TLU took seven student-athletes to the national championships. Aiken and Devin Evans (Houston/Hightower) competed in the long jump. Evans, Sahara Bragner (Victoria/Memorial), Shyra Walker (Cuero/Cuero), and Julie Udoessien (Dallas/Liberty) competed in the 4x100 meter relay. Aiken and Destiney Jones (Garland/Naaman Forest) participated in the triple jump.

Jones did not advance to the finals of the triple jump Saturday, and Evans did not make the finals in the long jump Thursday. The 4x100 relay did not make the final after finishing fifth in its heat Thursday.

-Courtesy Texas Lutheran University Sports Information Department