DELAWARE, Ohio - Three Titan female pole vaulters competed at the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday. The event is being held Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24, at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

Westminster College sophomore Marissa Kalsey (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg) earned the fourth All-American honor of her career with a third-place finish in the pole vault. Kalsey registered six team points for the Titans after her finals jump of 12-07.50 (3.85m). Kalsey now has two more All-American laurels than any Titan (male or female) in school history.

'It feels great,' Kalsey said. 'I definitely wanted to do better. I wanted [to earn] a personal-record, but it's nice to know that even on a bad day, I'm still going to get All-American status. That's reassuring and relieving.'

Kalsey went up against tough competition; Anna Etherington from Washington University, who earned first with a stadium-record of 13-07.25 (4.15m), and Cimran Virdi from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the 2014 Indoor champion, who placed second with a mark of 13-05.25 (4.10m).

'That really does help me,' Kalsey said of facing the best in the nation. 'It definitely pushes me to do my best.'

Titan freshman Cassidy Shepherd (Greensburg, Pa. / Salem) finished 10th in the event with a jump of 11-09.75 (3.60m), while classmate Brooke Mancuso (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny) tied for 17th with a mark of 11-09.75 (3.60m). Shepherd cleared 11-09.75 on her opening attempt, while Mancuso cleared the height on her third and final attempt.

All three pole vaulters earned the distinction of All-American at the 2014 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.

Also competing at Nationals will be Westminster senior Haley Gabor (New Kensington, Pa. / Ford City), who is making her first appearance at the national championships in the 400. Gabor is seeded 15th with a school-record time of 56.35. Gabor is the first Titan in school history (male or female) to qualify in the 400. The 400 preliminaries start at 7 p.m. on Friday and finals begin at 2:55 p.m. on Saturday.

Watch Kalsey's interview with the NCAA here:



***The Presidents' Athletic Conference contributed to this release.

About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College ranks first in the nation as 'Best College for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math,' according to Forbes.com. Westminster is a top-tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster is also honored as one of 'The Best 378 Colleges' by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus. Visit www.westminster.edu/advantage to view 'Advantage: Westminster' A Strategic Plan 2010-2020.