Emory University senior Theresa Ford got the Eagles off to a quick start on the first day of the 2013 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, earning an all-America honor based on her finish in the long jump.

Ford opened up action at the Al B. Carius track in Naperville, Illinois by finishing sixth in the long jump with a leap of 5.55 meters.  She took over sixth place with a leap of 5.52 meters on her second-to-last jump, and cemented her victory by adding on another three hundredths of a meter on the final leap.

Ford earned an all-America honor for the second-straight indoor campaign, after receiving the recognition in the high jump last year.  She is the second Eagle all-time to earn an all-America honor in the long jump, joining former Eagle Jordan Beall, who accomplished the feat in 2009. 

Ford also became the first multiple-time Indoor All-America honoree in the history of the women's track and field program, and claimed Emory's 10^th overall women's indoor all-America award.  Ford will try for her second all-America honor of the meet on Saturday, when she will be competing in the high jump at 12:00 PM ET.

Based on her finish, Ford contributed three points for the Eagles team total, placing Emory in a tie for 20^th after one day.

However, two other Emory competitors put the squad in a position to rise in the standings on the second day, qualifying for the finals during day one preliminaries.  Senior Kaele Leonard qualified for the finals of the 400-meter dash, finishing sixth in the preliminaries with a time of 57.10 seconds.  In the 60-meter dash, sophomore Debora Adjibaba claimed sixth place with a time of 7.71 seconds, breaking her own school record by a hundredth of a second. 

Also in action on Friday was junior Morgan Monroe, who placed 14^th in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.24 seconds.

Leonard will compete in the finals of the 400-meter dash on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, while Adjibaba will run in the 60-meter dash finals at 3:50 PM ET on Saturday.  Leonard and Adjibaba will also join freshman Alexandra Aiello and sophomore Electra Korn in the 4x400-meter relay on Saturday at 5:20 PM ET, the final event of the meet.