Alicia finished second in the pole vault clearing a height of 14 feet, 1 1/4 inches, to earn her second career All-America honor.

The Minnesota women’s track & field team tied for 12th-place, matching the highest finish in school history, at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in College Station, Texas. Alicia Rue and Heather Dorniden earned top-three finishes to score for the Golden Gophers and earn All-America honors.

“I really proud of Alicia and Heather and how well they performed,” said Golden Gopher head coach Matt Bingle. “They really fought hard and are such great competitors. Alicia was a bit shaky at her early heights before she found her rhythm. Heather was sick all week and I think she just woke up this morning and convinced herself she was healthy.”

Rue, a junior from Plymouth, Minn., finished second in the pole vault clearing a height of 14 feet, 1 1/4 inches, to earn her second career All-America honor. The two-time Big Ten indoor champion missed her first attempt of the meet, perhaps shaking off some jitters, at 13-3 1/2 then missed only once at her next three heights. Indiana junior Kylie Hutson won the national title with a vault of 14-3 1/4, making the height on her first attempt. Rue missed three tries at the winning height.

“Alicia had a nice attempt at that last height (14-3 1/4),” added Bingle. “Once she got going, Alicia really vaulted well.”

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