PITTSBURG, Kansas – Senior Jessica Matthews (Monroe, Ga.) delivered the greatest triple jump performance in program history as she finished third at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, shattered her own program record twice and became just the sixth All-American in program history on Saturday, March 12.
 
Having reached the championships with a qualifying mark of 12.16-meters, a program record and the eighth best distance nationally this year, Matthews showed that that was just a warm up, right from her first attempt.
 
That first trip out she delivered a program record 12.35-meters, which would not only get her into the finals but hold as the second best distance of the night up until the very last round of jumps. On her final attempt, she bested her own new program record with a distance of 12.40-meters, a mark that is the fourth best in the country, only because Cierra Pulliam of Lewis edged her out of second with a 12.45 in her last try.
 
Competing in her second indoor national championships, and fifth overall including outdoor, Matthews accomplished things no other Laker has in the history of the program. She is the first member of the women's program to earn indoor All-American honors and just the sixth overall, joining outdoor All-Americans Shannon Smith (2013), Kim Larry (2008), Allison Kreutzer (2007), Angela Cobb (2007) and Joni Guffey (2002).
 
She is also the first Laker, men's or women's and indoors or outdoors, to better their own personal best twice at an NCAA Championship. Along with that, Matthews is the highest women's finisher at the NCAA Championships since Kreutzer earned All-American honors in the 5,000-meters in 2007.
 
Her distance of 12.40-meters is the longest in the history of the women's program, besting not only her own indoor mark but her record of 12.27 set outdoors as a sophomore in 2014.
 
In track, her third place finish is the highest in national championship competition for women's indoor and trails only current assistant coach Ayrton Azcue for the overall mark, who was a national runner-up for men's indoor in 2013. Kreutzer was also a national runner-up in cross country during the 2004 season.
 
As a team, Clayton State finished 30-of-145 of teams that sent at least one competitor and 30-of-53 among teams that scored. Matthews was the Lakers only competitor, scoring all six points.
 
"What a great effort," said head track & field coach Mike Mead. "I'm proud of her performance. It is perhaps one of the finest Laker performances at an NCAA Championship."
 
Clayton State Women's Competitors (1)
Jessica Matthews – Triple Jump (3-of-17, 12.40m)** % #
**Program Record
%Broke own program record with 12.35-meter jump earlier in competition
#Fourth longest distance in NCAA Division II in 2015-16 season
 
Clayton State Women's Track & Field All-Americans (Indoor and Outdoor)
Jessica Matthews (2016)*
Shannon Smith (2013)
Kim Larry (2008)
Allison Kreutzer (2007)
Angela Cobb (2007)
Joni Guffey (2002)
*Only Indoor Track & Field All-American