Jena Hemann entered the Texas A&M track and field record book for the first time Friday at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships.
It probably won't be the last.
A 2011 Central High School graduate, Hemann became the first Aggie woman to break 4,000 points in the pentathlon as she placed third overall during the first day of the 2013 Southeastern Conference Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
One of only two female athletes in IHSA state track and field meet history to win four events twice, Hemann finished the five-event marathon with a career best 4,017 points, breaking the mark of 3,919 points set by Daphne Fitzpatrick in 2011.
Aggies teamate Annie Kunz, who placed fifth in the event, also broke Fitzpatrick's mark with 3,994 points.
Hemann and Kunz each turned in career-best performances amid the five events.
Going into the final event, the 800 meters, Hemann needed a time of 2 minutes, 36 seconds to better the Aggie school record while Kunz needed a 2:31.5 to topple the mark.
And as she did so many times durig her spectacular high school career, Hemann responded.
"It's phenomenal, I really wanted to come out here and break 4,000 points,'' Hemann said. "That was my goal. As soon as I finished the long jump, the first thing I did was ask coach how fast I'd have to run to score 700 points in the 800, since I knew I would need that to break 4,000 points.
"He told me I needed a 2:29, so I was really set to do that. To achieve that was awesome."
Kunz finished fifth in her section of the 800 with a 2:25.68 (748 points)) while Hemann placed seventh in 2:28.50 (712 points). Hemann improved upon her previous best score of 3,789 while Kunz improved upon her previous best of 3,826.
"Jena and I were talking earlier about how it was like we were freshman again since we are in the SEC this year," Kunz noted. "We didn't know what to expect. So, we focused on ourselves and tried to get some PRs. We wanted to compete as best as we can and to score eight points for the team is incredible.''
Hemann opened the competion by setting a career best of 8.81 seconds in the 60 hurdles, as she won her hea to earn 950 points.
A four-time state high jump champion at Central, Hemann cleared 5-feet, 8 3/4 inches in that event to earn 916 points. Hemann then earned 698 points with a throw of 41 feet 1 2/5 inches in the shot put.
A two-time Class A state champion in the long jump, Hemann earned 741 points for a jump of 18 feet 6 1/4 inches, setting the stage for the 800.
Arkansas senior Makeba Alcide won the pentathlon with a score of 4,569 points, which set a collegiate record. Alcide bettered the previous record of 4,555 points set by Brianne Theisen of Oregon.
