Gaines appears to be more than ready to defend her triple jump crown at the 2012 NEC Indoor Championships, which are set for February 11-12 in Landover, MD. The three-time NEC Indoor MVP put up a personal record in the triple jump at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Gaines topped a field of 27 competitors by bounding 13.14m (43’). While improving his NEC-leading mark, the fourth-year Blackbirds escalated to fourth place overall on the NCAA Division I performance list. Should Gaines repeat, or come close to repeating, that performance when the 2012 NEC title meet commences this weekend, then she would shatter the current conference record (12.55m) that Gaines herself set in 2011.