Allen’s brilliant track career comes to a close at West Regionals
Alisha Allen
The unpredictable weather conditions caused the first day of competition to be suspended and forced the jumping events to be conducted indoors and delayed them by an entire day.
University of Northern Colorado senior Alisha Allen of Fairbanks was one of the athletes affected by the last-minute changes, cancellations and rescheduling.
Allen, of Lathrop High fame, competed in the NCAA regional for the second year in a row, finished out her career with a jump of 18-04.5 inches and finished 39th in the event.
Northern Colorado coach Amanda Schick praised Allen for remaining upbeat staying focused despite the distractions.
“Alisha started warming up on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and due to the circumstances didn’t even jump until 8:00 p.m., and they moved the event inside. She handled herself with great poise and mental toughness, unfortunately the result just wasn’t where it needed to be,” Schick told the school’s website.
“To be a senior and leave on a meet that didn’t meet your expectations can be hard, she is an amazing young lady who has forever shaped me as a coach and helped push this program to a higher level. I will miss her so much, and want to thank her for these past four years.”
Allen leaves as the school’s record holder in both the indoor and outdoor long jump and triple jump. She was also a part of the 4×400 relay team that set the school record in 2014.