Straus earns second straight NAIA All-America honor in heptathlon with strong finish

MARION, Ind. — A strong finish to the two-day heptathlon propelled Culver-Stockton College junior Delaney Straus to a seventh-place finish at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Straus, who earned All-America status with the top eight finish, ended the first four events on Wednesday in 14th place among the 16 competitors with 2,571 total points. After finishing eighth in the long jump to start the second day with a leap of 17 feet, two inches, she earned 624 points for her effort and jumped two spots into 10th place.

The junior from Philadelphia, Mo., then won the javelin throw and garnered 621 points, tossing the spear a career-best 123 feet, three inches, before excelling in the final event, the 800-meter run. She ran away from the field and won in a time of 2:21.87, ending nearly three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Chaney Nelson of Doane (Neb.).

That finish earned her 794 points to give her 4,613 points, finishing 13 points out of sixth place and 56 points ahead of the eighth-place finisher. Straus is the first female from Culver-Stockton to be named All-American twice in track and field.

During the first day of competition, Straus’s best finish of the day came in the shot put, where she finished eighth among the 16 competitors with a throw of 32 feet, 10 inches. She earned her highest point total in the two running events, garnering 756 points in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.66 seconds, and 730 points in the 200 with a time of 26.78 seconds.

In other events, Faith Younce competed in the 5,000-meter race walk and placed 12th overall in a time of 29:05.27. Straus also competed in the 400-meter hurdles and placed 18th overall in a time of 1:03.98.