February 23, 2008

The first appearance of the Big East Conference’s indoor track and field championships at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory in Day 1 of the two-day competition got off to an outstanding start when Jillian Drouin, Syracuse senior, posted a winning total of 4,099 points for the five events of the pentathlon. The total erased the Armory’s all-time record of 3,924 points and the Armory’s college mark of 3,830. The total also moved the 5-foot-11-inch, 145-pound Orange athlete from Ontario, Canada, from provisional status to an auto NCAA qualifier in the pentathlon in next month’s NCAA indoor championships.

“I always start my events with no expectations other than to do my best,” Drouin said after her record performance. “Today I felt real good and just went about my business doing things that were necessary to win.” She started with gusto, posting the highest points in the first three competitions—the 60-hurdles (987 points), the high jump (928) and the shot put (691). Her next event, the long jump’s 819 points, were the second-best in the field and she scored her lowest points (674) in an event she admits is not her best, the 800 meters. “I was elated when my point total was announced, particularly with the fact that it qualified me for the NCAA’s and guaranteed me a spot in the college championships.”

Drouin comes from an athletic family. “My younger sister is a hockey player at Adrian University in Michigan, and my kid brother, a 6-feet 4-inch senior, is a high jumper and has a best height of 6-foot 9 ¾ inches.” Jillian intends to try to make the Canadian Olympic team at the trials in June. She has an outdoor best in the heptathlon of 5,890 points, and she feels 6,000 will make her country’s Olympic team...