Kirschling, Knoblock All-Americans at Junior Olympics

Megan Kirschling’s trip to the Junior Olympics in Baltimore turned into a war of attrition.

With 51 competitors from around the nation taking to the field at Morgan State University Saturday, the high jump became a marathon, stretching across four hours in the worst of the heat.

And at the end of it, Kirschling was the silver medalist and an All-American.

“Really, it was pretty brutal,” she said. “I still think it went pretty well, considering I haven't really been able to jump except in the qualifying events.”

Fighting the huge field and the elements, Kirschling breezed through the heights, going over every height through 5-7 without a miss.

But she ran into trouble at 5-8.75, failing to clear the height, while West Virginia’s Emily Godwin got over the bar to take gold.

Kirschling’s perfection to that point earned her the silver, and she said she was relatively happy with her performance, despite missing out on the top of the podium—she’s already looking to the long-term and her collegiate career.

“I don't think I was really in great high jump shape,” she said. “I have been concentrating mostly on the weight training program I need to do for next year.”

teammate Megan Knoblock, meanwhile, did just what she set out to do heading into the finals.

With a goal of beating her top time of the year in the 1,500—she raced to a 5:07.39 at the Rowan Girls’ Open in May—Knoblock stuck with a pack of four runners right around five minutes flat on her way to a seventh-place finish and All-American status in the Young Women’s final Sunday.

It was a huge improvement from the race at Rowan—despite heat and humidity, Knoblock blazed her way to a 5:01.06, right on the heels of sixth-place finisher Ju-Ells McLeod.