CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Wayne State senior Michaela Dendinger picked up her ninth career All-American honor on the final day of the NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, earning her third honor in the shot put with a fifth-place finish.
The Coleridge native was unable to defend her national title of a year ago in the event, finishing with a top mark of 50 feet, 8 3/4 inches in the preliminaries. She fouled on all three attempts in the finals, but still came away with her third All-American honor in the event, including the national title last year nad a seventh as a sophomore in 2015 (she took a medical redshirt in 2016).
Dendinger was joined by sophomore Tia Jones and freshman Jadin Wagner in the event. Jones was 17th with a best throw of 45 feet, 9 1/4 inches, while Wagner was 21st with a best effort of 44 feet, 7 1/2 inches. Both athltes' throws came in the preliminaries.
Dendinger tried to make it a 3-for-3 effort on the All-American stand, but was unable to get to the finals in the discus Saturday afternoon. She finished 10th with a best throw of 150 feet, 7 inches in the preliminaries.
Fellow senior Kacie O'Connor also competed, placing 16th with a best mark of 145 feet, 5 inches.
