Abena Boamah-Acheampong

Abena Boamah-Acheampong likely needed to increase her previous season-best mark in the high jump by half an inch in order to make the NCAA Div. III Championships, and that's just what The College of Wooster sophomore standout accomplished Friday at the Gregory Invitational, hosted by North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

It was officially announced Sunday that Boamah-Acheampong did qualify for the NCAA Championships, which are taking place at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, just about 30 miles from her hometown of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. She'll jump Saturday, May 28, starting at noon.

Boamah-Acheampong cleared 5 feet, 5.25 inches April 29, which was tied for 20th along with a number of others in Div. III entering Friday's last-chance meet, but she moved up to a tie for 13th-place on the NCAA qualifying list with a 5 feet, 5.75 inch mark. That reset her own school record in the event, and most impressive, put her in second-place out of the Gregory Invitational's field of 31 high jumpers, many of whom will compete in the national field.

The North Coast Athletic Conference's Field Athlete of the Meet two weeks ago when she won both the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches) and triple jump (34 feet, 6.25 inches), Boamah-Acheampong's performance at North Central was labeled by Wooster head coach Dennis Rice as "the best meet of her collegiate career."

Twenty-two student-athletes will compete in the high jump Saturday and the top-eight take a spot on the All-America Team. Boamah-Acheampong is aiming to become Wooster's first track & field All-American since distance runner Katie Wieferich in 2007.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for her to challenge the top women in the country," added Rice. "Confidence is key to being successful, and she gained a lot this past weekend by finishing second against many of the same competitors she'll see this weekend."