DES MOINES, Iowa - Senior Ana Ruzevic capped off her senior season by grabbing Second Team All-America honors in the javelin at the 2012 NCAA National Championships. Ruzevic finished 15th overall in the event at the NCAA summit with a throw of 46.74-meters to grab All-America honors for the second straight season in the event at historic Drake Stadium.
"I know that Ana was hoping for a better result today," said Tulane head coach Eric Peterson, "but we are so proud of her and what she has been able to do during her time at Tulane. (Today's result) doesn't change the level of respect or pride that I have for her and what she has done for our program over the last couple of years. She has a lot to be proud of and we are proud of what she has been able to achieve."
After fouling on her first two attempts, Ruzevic tossed the javelin 46.74-meters to end the first flight of the competition in eighth place. After the second flight of 12 competitors concluded, the Split, Croatia native found herself in 15th place overall. The top-16 showing earned her Second Team All-America honors, after earning First Team accolades a season ago, and capped a brilliant career for the Green Wave.
Ruzevic made her way to the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the third straight season. The Split, Croatia native is only the third Green Wave to participate at the national summit three or more times in a career, joining sprinter Gloria Asumnu and distance runner Hanne Lyngstad. She claimed First Team All-American honors as a junior when she placed fourth overall in the final collegiate meet of the season.
The senior will also leave her mark in the record books as the top javelin thrower in program history. In 2011, Ruzevic opened her outdoor campaign with a toss of 51.37-meters at the Tulane Team Challenge. As a junior, Ruzevic won her first Conference USA javelin title and finished fourth at the NCAA National Championships to mark just the fourth time in school history Tulane was able to score
This season, Ruzevic won four of the eight meets in which she competed in and finished outside the top-five just twice. She was able to defend her Conference USA crown in the event, besting the field by three meters inside her home track at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans City Park.
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