GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In her first national competition with the College of Saint Mary, sophomore Gozie Okafor earned All-America honors on Thursday with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Okafor, an Omaha Marian graduate and University of Memphis transfer, qualified in the ninth and final position after a best prelim jump of 11.77 meters (38 feet, 7½ inches). That nosed out freshman teammate Imani Skanes, who went 11.75 (38-6¾) on her third prelim jump, for the coveted spot in the finals.

Okafor then improved on her next two attempts, soaring 11.88 (38-11¾) on her fourth try and then 11.91 (39-1) on her fifth attempt, which will go into the books as a CSM program record in addition to the seventh-place finish.

Skanes' mark of 11.75 was good for 10^th and will enter as the No. 2 indoor performance in program history.

"Gozie has had a long, hard path to get to this point — not just this season, but the past two years,'' CSM Coach Steve Gordon Jr. said. "Many would have given up, and no one would have blamed her. But she didn't. Her faith and her hard work led her to this point, and now she's an NAIA All-American forever.

"Imani starts off her nationals experience with a climb from qualifying 15th to earning 10th in the nation, just one place away from joining her training partner and teammate in the final. Outstanding for the freshman standout, and that lit a fire for her marquee event (long jump) on Friday."