Culver-Stockton College sophomore Delaney Straus became the first Wildcat female athlete to earn All-America honors in the heptathlon with her seventh place finish Thursday at the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Wildcat Stadium on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.

Straus, of Philadelphia, Mo. (Marion County HS), is just the second female track and field athlete to earn All-America accolades, joining Paige Bray who was recognized in the 200-meter dash in 2017.

Straus began her day in 16^th place among the 16 competitors in the field with 2,143 points after the first four events Wednesday. She finished strong by recording 2,641 points in the final three events to break her own school record with 4,784 points, topping her previous mark of 4,634 set at the Heart of America Conference Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

Straus opened day two with an eighth place finish in the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 5 ½ inches to register 648 total points. She followed that up with a throw of 114 feet, 5 inches in the javelin, finishing fifth in the event, for 569 points, before ending the competition in style by breaking her own school record in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.67 for 926 points. The 800 time was first overall among the 16 competitors and helped Straus leap frog nine other entrants to earn seventh place.

In other women's action, Straus had less than hour after the completion of the heptathlon before she had to compete in the 800-meter run open. Straus ran a 2:14.44 to finish 21st overall.

In the 5000-meter race walk, Allison Morris and Faith Younce registered top 20 finishes in the event. Morris finished 11th overall with a time of 28:29.42 while Younce finished 18th with a time of 30:58.52.