4 UAA track and field athletes earn All-America honors at nationals

May 23—Four University of Alaska Anchorage athletes earned All-America honors at the Division II Track and Field Championships, which wrapped up Saturday in Emporia, Kansas.

On Thursday, UAA junior Vivien Liessfeld earned All-American honors in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 1.25 inches to finish 12th.

"Really great to have the group we do representing UAA at the national meet," UAA head coach Ryan McWilliams said in a statement from the school. "Really tough competitions going on out there."

Three more UAA athletes earned All-American honors during Friday's competition.

Junior Anders Larsen, who is from Chugiak, placed seventh in the decathlon with 7,041 points. The mark is the second-highest total in school history.

Larsen, who was in third after the first day, ran personal bests in both the 100 and 400.

"Anders competed in one epically long decathlon," McWilliams said in a statement. "Consorted in inclement weather, dealt with weather delays, dealt with equipment delays and some very stiff competitors. He came in 15th and leaves as an All-American with his seventh-place finish. I just couldn't be more proud of him."

UAA graduate student John Peckham finished 11th in the steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 7.16 seconds, marking the final race of his collegiate career.

Although she didn't qualify for the finals after finishing fifth in her heat, UAA junior Jessica Chisar ran 2:07.99 in the prelims of the 800 to place 10th overall.

First team All-America goes to the top eight finishers, while places nine to 12 earn second team All-America honors.

Also on Thursday, UAA junior Ryann Smith finished 15th in the 1,500 in a time of 4:29.61.

"This is the toughest meet of the year," McWilliams said. "Best competition in the division. We had a great group of athletes here. I'm proud to have had them represent UAA and proud of the way every single one of them competed.

"Jess, Ryann, Vivien, John and Anders represent the most athletes we have had at this meet in a long time. They have set the standard for the program going forward, and we are ready for our young team to continue the trajectory."