Athlete of the week: Zweifel looking to make history

Junior Jennifer Zweifel consistently has finished at or near the top in both the triple and long jump this season, and last weekend was no exception.

Zweifel won the triple jump in last week's meet in Columbia, Mo., with a career best 39-05. She also finished second in the long jump with a leap of 18-06.50. Zweifel is just the sixth woman this season in Div. II track to clear the 39-05 mark.

Although Zweifel has performed well so far this season, head coach John Cochrane said she must do her best at the conference meet.

"I don't think her best performance has come yet," Cochrane said. "This next weekend will be a real test."

Zweifel is sixth on the Div. II national list in the triple jump and fourth in the conference. She also is 17th in the nation and sixth on the conference list in the long jump. This is a considerable feat considering she didn't start the triple jump until coming to Truman.

Zweifel said her goal is to break the school record in the triple and long jump at the MIAA meet this weekend.

"I'm about a half a foot away from the record in both events," Zweifel said. "[This weekend] I would like to get as close as possible to those marks, as well as score some points along the way."

Cochrane said that right now, Zweifel has become technically good as well as being pretty physically fit. He said she has improved a lot since her freshman year.

"She works hard, never complains, never tries to get out of doing her workouts, always attends the workouts and does exactly what she needs to do at every practice and workout," Cochrane said.

Zweifel also said she has become more technically sound since last year and she has worked harder and gained more power in her jumps.

Both Zweifel and Cochrane agree that alumna Katrina Biermann, a proficient jumper who graduated last year, has contributed to her growth and success as a person and as an athlete.

"They both work hard, and they both have great technique," Cochrane said. "Biermann was pretty high-strung and Jennifer was as well as a freshman but has gotten better and better as she has done the workout, improved her technique and continued to gain experience through competing and is now much more calm and collected."

Cochrane said Zweifel leads by example and that he saw firsthand how much she cared about the program earlier this year. Zweifel arrived to campus early to help Cochrane with freshman orientation.

The MIAA Indoor Championship is Feb. 25-17 in Warrensburg, Mo. Zweifel finished seventh in the triple jump in the championships last year with a jump of 37-07.25. As a freshman, she finished 13th with a leap of 35-01.25.