Pleasant surprises filled the weekend for the Syracuse indoor track team as the women finished in the top five for the first time in 13 years at the Big East Championships in Akron, Ohio.

Sophomore Jillian Drouin shocked herself and her head coach when she won the high jump on the final jump of the competition after scoring a sixth-place finish the day before in the pentathlon. Her performance was essential as the Orange snuck into the top five by a single point over St. John’s.

Three women won four events to help the Orange score 53 points and claim the fifth place finish out of 16 teams. The men finished 10th with a score of 30 points. The last time the women placed in the top five was in 1993 when it finished third.

Johvonne Hernandez took first place in the weight throw and reclaimed her 2004 title in the shot put. She also won the most outstanding field performer award of the meet for the fourth time. Her teammate Sheron Mark broke the Athletics Field House record in the triple jump with a mark of 12.62 meters. Aulton Kohn was the lone winner for the men in the 60-meter dash for the men to claim his second Big East title.

Drouin scored the surprise win of the day when she tied her personal best jump of 1.75 meters and won her first Big East Championship.

‘I really didn’t expect to win at all,’ Drouin said. ‘I kept saying (Sunday) to my family, ‘I can’t believe that just happened”

The sophomore from Ontario, Canada was not highly ranked coming into the conference championships because she spent much of the season adjusting to a new jumping style. Starting farther back at the beginning of her jumps may have set her back early in the season, but Drouin was ready to go when she got to Akron.

The jump order was selected randomly and Drouin was chosen to be the last competitor, which would benefit her immensely in the end. After eight jumpers made their jump of 1.70 meters, Drouin sat back as each woman failed to clear the 1.75 meter mark. Drouin made a 1.75 meter jump when she finished fourth at the Pan-Am Games this summer.

Since the tiebreaker would include the number of failed attempts at previous heights Drouin was in danger of falling as low as eight if she missed her final jump but could win the event with a made jump at that height.

‘I kept telling myself I could do it that I had done it before and I shouldn’t be worried,’ Drouin said.

When she cleared the mark, Drouin showed her emotions immediately.

‘I was pretty excited,’ she said. ‘I’m usually pretty laid back but after I made it I jumped up on the mat and I couldn’t stop smiling.’

Assistant coach Enoch Borozinski was not surprised by Drouin’s win. He believed Drouin came in under the radar because she is the type of athlete that comes through in the big meets more than in the early meets.

‘She definitely didn’t come out of nowhere,’ Borozinski said. ‘She had the opportunity to get that jump in when no one else could and that’s what makes a Big East champion.’

While SU head coach Chris Fox acknowledged that Borozinski believed in Drouin all along, he said the win came as a surprise. As for the rest of the team, Fox believes the conference championships were a step in the right direction.

‘I’m obvioiusly very pleased on the women’s side,’ Fox said said. ‘It bodes well for next year.’

Published on February 20, 2006 at 12:00 pm