Clemson’s Patricia Mamona Earns Bid to NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

March 10, 2008

Clemson, SC – Sophomore jumper Patricia Mamona has earned an official invitation to compete in Friday and Saturday’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, AR. The NCAA announced the declaration list for the national meet Monday evening. A total of 16 student-athletes earned spots in this weekend’s meet in the triple jump.

The bid to the NCAA Championships will be Mamona’s first during indoor season. Just a sophomore, she competed in last year’s outdoor national meet in the triple jump. She finished 11th in the event at NCAA Outdoors last season as a freshman.

Mamona is the first student-athlete from Clemson to compete in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships since former Lady Tiger great Gisele Oliveira won the national crown in the event in 2005. In all, she is the fifth women’s track & field athlete from Clemson to compete at indoor nationals in the triple jump. Among the former Lady Tigers to compete in the event is current head coach Marcia Noad, formerly Marcia Fletcher, in 1991.

The Lisbon, Portugal native comes into this weekend’s competition ranked 11th on the NCAA Division I performance list in the triple jump. Her top mark of 43’7″ came in a runner-up, collegiate-best finish on Saturday at Virginia Tech’s Last Chance meet. It ranks as the second-best indoor triple jump mark in school history. She earned All-ACC honors in both the long jump and triple jump at the conference indoor meet just two weeks ago in Chapel Hill, NC.

Mamona will compete at 6:30 PM on Saturday. Live results can be accessed through the University of Arkansas’ home page, www.ladybacks.com.