Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Richardson native competing at World Junior Track and Field Championships

By Andrew Laska of Richardson Echo

Kansas State University

TiAra Walpool

Richardson native and Kansas State University freshman jumper TiAra Walpool has been selected to compete for the U.S. team at the 12th annual International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) World Junior Championships to be held July 8-13 at Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak Stadium in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

She will compete in the triple jump beginning on Tuesday, July 8 in the qualification round, while the final is set for Thursday, July 10.

Walpool earned her first NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance in June, where she missed qualifying for the finals with a top leap of 40-10.50 and finished 22nd overall. She recorded jumps of 40 or more feet in five of her six competitions during the outdoor campaign, including a personal-best leap of 43-02.25 at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lincoln, Neb., on May 31. Walpool won the triple jump title at the Nebraska Open on April 27 with a mark of 40-05.00, while she nabbed All-Big 12 honors with an eighth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships on May 18 with a mark of 41-04.25.

A tremendous all-around competitor, Walpool competed in six events – 100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100 meter relay, 4x200 meter relay and 4x400 meter relay and triple jump – during the outdoor season. She was apart of three first-place relay teams, including both the 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays at the Baldy Castillio Inviational on March 22 and the 4x400 meter relay at the Nike Elite Meet on March 29.

A standout at Plano East High School, Walpool still holds the school marks for both the 200 meters (24.25) and 400 meters (55.74).

For more information on the 12th annual IAAF World Junior Championships, including a schedule of events, results and a photo gallery, visit www.iaaf.org/WJC08/index.html.

Pegasus News content partner - Richardson Echo

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