FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- University of Oklahoma sophomore pole vaulter Chip Heuser took fifth place Friday night at the NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Heuser earned his first All-America honor after clearing a personal best of 17 feet-10.50 inches (5.45 meters) at the Randal Tyson Track.
\"After I cleared 5.35, I was pretty confident,\" Heuser said. \"I missed my first attempt at 5.45 so, on the second, I just gripped it and ripped it. I wasn\'t really thinking about anything. I just hit my marks.
\"I didn\'t really change anything in my approach all night. You don\'t want to mess around at the national championships. I just got up on a big pole and jumped some bars.\"
Oregon\'s Tommy Skipper won the national title with a best of 18-6.50 (5.65).
Heuser becomes just the fourth Sooner All-American in the indoor pole vault event, joining Tim McMichael (1989), Michael Westlund (2001 and 2002) and Scott Martin (2005). His mark ranks sixth on OU\'s all-time performance list.
\"When he cleared his first attempt at 5.35 (17-6.50), he was in the driver\'s seat,\" OU assistant coach Mark Napier said. \"I told him before the meet he had to clear 5.45 to be in the top five and that\'s what it came down to.
\"He\'s come a long way in the past year. For someone who was told he would never vault again after breaking his wrist last year, and overcoming the physical and mental challenges that come along with that, fifth place was a big step for him.\"
The result concludes a successful indoor season for the Louisville, Ky., native, who finished runner-up at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
OU\'s women\'s distance medley relay finished just out of a scoring position in ninth. The team of Catherine Odell, Tijhanni Newton, Kristi Cook and Jessica Eldridge ran the combined 4,000-meter distance in 11:28.90.
Neither of Oklahoma\'s sprinters were fast enough to make it to the final rounds.
Ronnie Pines placed 13th overall in the men\'s 60-meter dash prelims, clocking in at 6.74. Yolanda Goff took 16th in the women\'s 60, running 7.37.
However, both were quicker than at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, when they placed sixth and fourth, respectively.
The competition concludes the indoor season. The Sooners open the outdoor portion of their schedule March 25 at the University of Tulsa Invitational.