EUGENE, Ore. – One of the best track and field athletes in Wichita State history wrapped up her collegiate career, claiming her sixth All-American award Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.
Destiny Masters, a senior from El Dorado, Kan., placed 10th in the heptathlon with 5,763 points, good for Second Team All-America status. She became the first Shocker in history to earn All-America status in back-to-back NCAA heptathlons and gave Wichita State its eighth All-American award in the event.
“To have Destiny finish her final NCAA Championship in 10th for her sixth NCAA All-American performance is really meaningful, and I couldn’t be prouder of her and all of her accomplishments,” head coach Steve Rainbolt said. “This was certainly a highlight, probably second only to her sixth-place finish at the indoor championship a year ago in the pentathlon.”
She finished her career ranked second all-time in Wichita State track and field history, male or female, in All-America honors with six, behind Shocker Hall of Famer and Olympian, Aliphine Tuliamuk, who earned 11 in her track and field career.
“It was a highlight because Destiny did struggle this year to find her a game, but she kept fighting, kept competing, made it all the way to this meet and then found some of the magic that has made her such a fabulous Shocker for the last six years,” Rainbolt said.
Masters opened day one of the heptathlon by running 14.23 in the 100-meter hurdles to start the competition in 22nd place.
Moving to the second event, Masters, a three-time All-American in the open high jump (indoor/outdoor), cleared the highest bar of the day, jumping a season-best 1.84m/6’0.5″ to jump all the way up into second place overall.
On her first shot put attempt, the senior threw 13.48m/44’2.75″, the fifth-best throw of the day, to maintain her position overall.
In the final event of day one, Masters ran a 25.54 in the 200 meters, 23rd in the event, to finish the first day of competition in third place.
Masters opened day two of competition by jumping 5.79m/19’0″, the 16th-best mark of the event and dropped to sixth place overall heading to the sixth event.
In the javelin, she had a clutch third attempt throw of 44.45m/145’10”, the second-farthest throw of the competition, to move back up into fourth place with one event to go. Masters ran 2:33.30 in the 800 to give her a 10th-place finish overall in the heptathlon.
Her 5,763 points was a personal best and ranks third all-time in program history.
“I have to say that in today’s world of the transfer portal and the way it seems like athletes move from program to program, it really means a lot to me that Destiny spent her entire career as a Shocker,” Rainbolt said. “I really admire that, and I have told her how much I appreciate it, so today was truly the end of one of the great careers in the history of the Wichita State track and field program. We will certainly miss Destiny Masters.”
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