By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Fort Hays State University senior Darcie Schmitz stood at the back of the runway when Lincoln (Mo.) University senior Racquel Anderson prepared for her final jump of the NCAA Division II women's long jump competition Friday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M. Schmitz held the lead with a jump of 6.03 meters and Anderson, the last jumper in the event, was the lone competitor who could pass Schmitz.

Anderson ran down the runway and flew into the pit. At first, Tiger coach Dennis Weber thought Anderson had outjumped Schmitz. Schmitz thought "oh no" and didn't know if she had won the title. She looked as the official numbers went up on the scoreboard. First, came the 6 and then a 0.

"I was like, 'Oh, shoot, I am going to lose by a centimeter,' " Schmitz said. "And then they put the 2 up and I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I can't believe it, I just won.' "

Anderson finished with a jump of 6.02 meters, one centimeter behind Schmitz's national-championship winning and school record-leap of 6.03 meters (19 feet, 1/2 inch). Schmitz, who also earned second place in the triple jump with a leap of 41-1, won the first national title of her career and first by a FHSU track athlete since Bryan Haynes won the 200-meter indoor title in 2008.

After Schmitz's title, Weber caught Tiger jumps coach James Gildon, who fainted. It marked the first time Gildon had coached a national title winner.

"She knew that she had a big jump in her," Weber said. "We have just been missing them a little bit all year. We knew that it would come. We were just hoping that it would come at the right time. Pretty excited about that."

Schmitz, a four-time All-American who Weber called "probably the best (jumper) we've ever had," scored all 18 points for the Tigers and helped Fort Hays finish 11th in the team standings. Schmitz, who went to high school at Baileyville-B&B, first went to Cloud County Community College, where she jumped consistently over 19 feet in the long jump and cleared 38 feet in the triple jump. A graphic arts major, Schmitz had received multiple Division I looks and took visits to University of Kansas and University of Wyoming, but went to Fort Hays last season and underwent some changes in her form.

"Her technique wasn't the best and her running mechanics needed a lot of work and they still need a lot of work," Weber said. "There was lot of upside to that, just based on her natural ability at the junior college level. She gets a lot of assistance in the technical part."

Last year, Schmitz built up strength and speed and changed the way she ran. Previously, she used to run on her toes more often. Now, Schmitz tries to run more flat footed, a difference that she said "has helped my jumping."

Last year, in the outdoor season, Schmitz pulled off a "huge jump" at outdoor nationals and earned All-American honors. She went 19-11 in the long jump (6.07 meters), breaking Maisha Prewitt's school record.

This winter, Schmitz was among the nation's best in the long jump and triple jump and entered indoor nationals seeded fourth in the long jump. Schmitz competed against several jumpers that had cleared 20 feet and Weber thought it would take a jump of 20-6 to win the title. All the competitors ran down a hydraulic runway, a runway that Schmitz said "seems a lot faster." At the start of the day, she had moved back her approach, but by competition's end, she had moved up her approach. After three preliminary jumps, Schmitz qualified second for the finals; Anderson led.

"In prelims I had a jump that was probably like 19-4 or so, but like all three jumps of prelims I was behind the board by like a foot, so I knew if I just got on the board, I for sure would have one out there," she said.

In her fourth jump overall (and first of finals) Schmitz uncorked her title-winning jump of 19-9 1/2, the best jump in Tiger history by 3 1/2 inches, besting junior Kelsey Martin's leap from earlier this winter. After the jump, Schmitz felt she had a chance to win the title.

"I had room to spare on the 19-9, but I at least hit the board, the other ones I have been completely behind it," she said.

On her final attempt, Anderson appeared to beat Schmitz's mark.

"Then when they measured it, they measured back further, so the girl stuck her hand a little bit, so that was just enough," Weber said. "... We were sweating it a little bit."

Then, Anderson's mark came up on the board -- and Schmitz realized she was national champion.

"I didn't know if she was past it, but I knew it was a good jump and she was probably going to be contesting mine," she said. "It's pretty awesome."