Pair of Former Bison to Compete at USA Indoor Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Two former North Dakota State track & field athletes will compete in the USA Indoor Championships being held in Albuquerque, N.M., this weekend.

Olympian and three-time NCAA Division II national champion Amanda Smock will contend for the American indoor championship in the triple jump, and two-time Summit League champion Shawn Francis will compete in the pole vault.

Smock is the defending USA Indoor champion in the triple jump, and she has won the last two USA Outdoor titles in the event.

Smock was the only American woman to represent the United States in the triple jump at the 2012 London Games, and she was a 13-time All-American from 2001-04 at NDSU.

Smock won NCAA indoor titles in the triple jump in 2002 and 2004 and won the outdoor title in 2003. She still holds NDSU's indoor record (42 feet, 4 ½ inches) and outdoor record (43 feet, ½ inch).

Francis competed for the Bison from 2005-09, claiming Summit League titles in the pole vault during the 2008 outdoor season and the 2009 indoor season. He received All-Summit League honors four times and was a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection.

Francis is one of 13 men scheduled to compete in the pole vault. He qualified by clearing 18-01.00 (5.51m) at the Thundering Herd Classic in Fargo on Feb. 2, making him the owner of the highest pole vault ever in the state of North Dakota.

The women's triple jump begins at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 3, and the men's pole vault is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday.