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Proffitt takes 6th at NCAA Division III Championships; earns 4th All-American Award

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Peyton Proffitt. (Otterbein University photo)
By
Adam Prescott, Otterbein University, https://otterbeincardinals.com

Make it a fourth All-American award (in as many tries) for Otterbein University sophomore pole vaulter Peyton Proffitt, who dug deep in churning out a sixth-place finish on Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Division III Championships inside Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

The decorated youngster, competing in yet another loaded national field, cleared three separate heights on her final attempt to rumble onto the podium once again. She ended the day with a final/best height of 3.86 meters (12-8).

It now marks a fourth showing inside the top six for Proffitt (Orient, Ohio/Westfall HS), who has taken third nationally at both NCAA Indoor meets and also landed fifth last spring to conclude her stellar inaugural year.

This time around, she passed on the opening height before quickly soaring over 11-8 to get on the board. She then surpassed 12-2 (3.71m) on her second attempt but faced adversity shortly thereafter by missing twice at 12-4, 12-6 and 12-8.

But have no fear, as the battle-tested Cardinal cleared all three heights on her final attempt to push forward in the competition en route to another All-American trophy. Her showing would conclude at 3.91 meters (12-10), a bar that would also eliminate two others vying for the crown.

By the time the dust cleared, Yasmin Ruff (Wash U) stood with the national title as the only competitor to achieve 4.06 meters (13-3.75).

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