May 17, 2005
Indianapolis, In - Erica McLain has been named USA Track & Field Athlete of the Week after setting an American junior record in the women's triple jump, and winning the long jump at last weekend's 2005 Pacific-10 Championships at UCLA's Drake Stadium.
McLain, a freshman at Stanford, leaped 45-2 1/2 (13.78m) to win the women's triple jump crown. A two-time World Junior Championship team member, McLain bettered Brittany Daniels' American junior record of 44-11 3/4 (13.71m) set at the 2004 USA Junior Track & Field Championships.
McLain's performance also was a varsity and freshman school record. A Plano, Texas native, McLain's effort was a Pac-10 meet record and the third-best mark in conference history.
During the 2005 outdoor season, McLain has nine of the top eleven American junior jumps ever, and during the Pac-10 Championships, four of those jumps made the all-time American junior list.
McLain also captured the conference long jump crown, and became the first Pac-10 athlete to win the long jump and triple jump conference titles in the same year. McLain's mark of 21-2 1/2 (6.46m) in the long jump was a school record and the second-best in the Cardinal record book.
McLain's two victories also helped the Stanford women win their first Pac-10 title.
McLain, during the 2005 indoor season, finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championship to gain her first collegiate All-American honor.
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