For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
NCAA Release
INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee has announced the participants for the 2014 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships. A total of 540 participants, 270 men and 270 women, will compete in the championships. Out of that number 41 indviduals and ten relay teams from the NSIC will compete. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event. The complete list of qualifiers is available at http://primetimetiming.com/liveresults/2014/ncaa_indoor_2014. Heat sheets will be available at this same website March 10.
The championships will be held March 14 and 15 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at JDL Fast Track. Winston-Salem State University and Visit Winston-Salem will serve as co-hosts of the championships. Portions of the championships will be streamed live on www.NCAA.com.
Meet Schedule
AUGUSTANA (10 - 6W/4M - 2 Relays)
Augustana will send six women and four men to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Vikings qualified both distance medley relay teams as well as five athletes in three other events according to the accepted athletes lists released on Tuesday afternoon. The men's DMR team clocked the second-fastest time in Division II this season with a 9:54.43. Augustana's quartet of Henrik Hansson, Skyler Kuil, Aduo Omot, and Harald Karbo will look to recapture the glory of Augustana's 2012 DMR national championship. Hansson and Omot also qualified in the men's 800-meter run with the 12th and 13th-fastest times of the season. A two-time national champion, Omot won the 2011 indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles as well as earning a third-place finish on the DMR squad that season.Hansson ran the 1,200-meter leg on the Vikings' DMR title in 2012 and will again run that leg for Augustana this season. Karbo earned qualifying marks in the mile and 3k, but not fastest enough times to earn a spot in the events.
Leading the women's qualifiers is Kristin Brondbo who earned the only Division II automatic bid with her 9:32.31in the 3,000-meter run in the first event of the season. Kyle Blakeslee will join Brondbo in the event after registering the eighth-ranked time in the Division II performance list. Blakeslee ran the 1,600-meter leg on the women's qualifying DMR squad and will be accompanied by Emma Anderson, Carina Hofmeister, and Kayla Mescher. Anderson and Mescher each earned provisional marks in the 800-meter run, but found themselves just outside the qualifying field.
Kelsey Kaufmann will be Augustana's lone field representative after registering a high-jump mark high enough for the NCAA Championships. Kaufmann cleared 1.73 meters (5-8) to rank 13th among Division II women.
The Vikings reached 22 qualifying marks on the season and will send their 10 athletes to the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY (2W - 1 Relays)
A combination of veterans and first-timers will make up the contingent of student-athletes for the University of Mary at the 2014 NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Champions. The Marauders qualified two individuals and a relay team for the championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 14-15. Leading the Marauders squad is four-time All-American Kathryn Stewart. The junior sprinter from Kingston, Jamaica, qualified for the 200 meter dash and as a member of the school's 4x400 meter relay team. The Northern Sun champion, Stewart posted the seventh best time in the nation in the 200 this season, running a 24.54. Competing in her fifth NCAA championship, Stewart earned All-American honors as a freshman in the indoor 200 as a freshman and was a member of the Marauders 2013 national champion distance medley relay team.
Coming off a pair of Northern Sun championships last weekend, senior Janet Johnson has earned a spot in the NCAA indoor championships for the third time. She also has competed at two outdoor national championships. Johnson was selected to run in the 60 meter hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica, native recorded a school and conference record of 8.37 seconds that ranks her fourth in the nation this season.
Joining Stewart on the 4x400 relay team is junior All-American Crystal Hovland and freshmen Cassie Jones and Melanie Rodriguez. The quartet is the fifth ranked team in the country with a season-best time of 3:49.13. A native of Rugby, N.D., Hovland ran with Stewart on the DMR championship team. Jones, from Toronto, Ontario, and Rodriguez, a Burlington, Ontario, native, will make their first visit to the NCAA championships.
MINNESOTA DULUTH (5 - 4W/1M - 2 Relays)
The University of Minnesota Duluth will send five individuals and two relay teams to the NCAA National Championships. Sam Rivard will compete in the mile and the 3000m run. She will also be part of the DMR team that also includes Hannah Olson, Amelia Maher and Victoria Zoller. Olson will join Rivard in the mile while Maher will compete in the pentathlon. Breanna Colbenson will compete in both the 3000m and 5000m runs as well.
On the men's side Cole Toepfer will run the file and be part of the DMR, which also includes Tyler Stevens, Phil D'Entremont and Chris Wilson.
MINNESOTA STATE (8 - 2W/6M - 2 Relays)
The fifth-rated Minnesota State men's track and field team will be sending nine student-athletes to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The 4x400-relay team of sophomore Zach Gearman, senior Jerrell Hancock, junior Nathan Hancock, and senior Carmono Lane qualified with a time of 3:16.92. Their time is currently the seventh-best in the nation.
Jerrell Hancock also qualified in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. In the 200-meter dash Hancock bested the automatic-qualifying mark of 21.69 qualifying with a time of 21.67. His time of 6.77 in the 60-meter dash ranks him eighth in NCAA Division II. This marks the third time he will participate in the indoor championships.
Nathan Hancock will be participating in the heptathlon for the third straight year. He finished fifth last year totaling 5,321. Hancock set the school record this year with a point total of 5,371 ranking him second in NCAA Division II.
Senior Chris Reed will be competing in both the weight throw and shot put at this year's meet. Reed set the Division II record in the shot put with a throw 65' 10 ¼" earlier this season. His mark of 67' 7 ½" is a school record and the fourth-highest qualifying mark.
Senior Keyvan Rudd met the qualifying standard in the high jump event leaping 7' ¼" which ranks sixth in Division II. This will be Rudd's fourth time participating in the indoor championships with his best finish coming in 2012 in which he finished seventh, clearing 6' 11 ½".
Senior David Pearcill will be making his first trip to the championship meet. Pearcill set the NSIC indoor record in the triple jump leaping 49' ¾" which places him ninth in Division II.
Sophomore Khalil Jor'dan will also be competing in the triple jump, as he qualified with a leap of 48' 6 ¾". This will be the first time Jor'dan will be competing the championship meet.
Myles Hunter will be making his debut at the national meet competing in the 60-meter hurdles. The freshman ran a provisional-qualifying time of 7.95 ranking him eighth on the NCAA Division II performance list.
The Minnesota State women's track and field team will be sending a total of six student-athletes to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. The 4x400-meter relay team consisting of junior Madison Alexander, junior Jenni Vanttinen, freshman Taylor Glover, and freshman Taylor Naatz ran a provisional qualifying time 3:51.12, ranking them 14th on the NCAA Division II performance list.
Junior Morgan Stampley will be making her debut at the indoor championships in the weight throw. Her throw of 59' set a new school record and is fifteenth on the performance list.
Junior Bryanna Sudman will also be making her debut at the NCAA Indoor Championships competing in the pole vault. Her vault of 12' 6 ¾" ranks 11th on the NCAA Division II qualifying list.
MSU MOORHEAD (2 - 2W - 1 Relay)
Two Minnesota State University Moorhead women's athletes and the men's 4x400 relay team have qualified for the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championships. Junior Tia Knight and sophomore Molly Montonye will represent the Dragon women at the meet while the 4x400 relay will represent the men.
Knight, who was the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Champion in the 60-meter dash, qualified in two events for the indoor championships. She qualified in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.59, which is the 12th-fastest time, and in the 60-meter dash at 7.62, which is tied for the 13th-best time.
Montonye qualified in the one-mile with a time of 4:57.84, which is 10th-best heading into the meet. She ran that time to finish runner-up at the NSIC Indoor Championships last week.
The Dragon men's 4x400 relay, which consisted of senior Keith Turner, junior Ryan Olson, junior Matt Loehr and junior Kyle Kastello, qualified with a time of 3:17.78, which is the 12th fastest.
MINOT STATE (1)
Minot State University's Kirk Capdeville (Jr., Pole Vault, Hinsdale, Mont.) finished in a tie for 14th overall nationally and will advance to his first NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship. Last year, Capdeville was the odd man out after tying for the final spot. The NCAA went to a secondary tiebreaker and Capdeville, who qualified for the 2011 NAIA National Championships in his first season as a Beaver, would have to wait for his turn at the NCAA meet. Capdeville ended up being the only Minot State athlete to qualify in the top 16. The Beavers had multiple provisional marks this season, but in the end, Capdeville finished with the highest place. He finished second in the pole vault at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Championships this past weekend at Bemidji State, clearing 16-feet-1.
SIOUX FALLS (7 - 4W/3M 1 Relay)
The University of Sioux Falls track & field team will have seven athletes and their men's DMR travel to Salem, N.C. to compete in the 2013-14 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships . For the men, the No. 19 ranked Cougars will send seven athletes to compete in the championships.
Returning for their second Indoor Championship appearance will be Scott Greenman and Jagger Gran who both qualified in the Pole Vault. Gran finished 10th (16-0.75/4.90m) at last year’s championships while Greenman finished 11th (15-7/4.75m). Gran is coming off of a NSIC Championship where he claimed top honors with his vault of 16-6.75 (5.05m) while Greenman’s vault of 16-0.75 (4.90m) placed him third overall. Both Gran and Greenman rank fifth in Division II this season as they have each recorded a vault of 16-6.75 (5.05m).
Making his first NCAA Championship appearance will be Jordon Bents who qualified in the Shot Put with his toss of 57-8.25 (17.58m). Bents enters the meet ranked 7th in Division II and also is coming off a 3rd place finish at the NSIC Indoor Championships.
The final group of men to qualify for USF was the Distance Medley Relay made up of Bobby Brockmueller, Billy Brockmueller, Kaleb Lindsey-Stevens and Blake Stevenson. The group recorded a time of 9:59.75 in the relay when they competed at the Minnesota State-Coaches Open in February. Entering the meet, the group holds the 11th fastest time in DII. Due to injury sustained at the conference meet, Tanner Townsend will be running the 400m leg of the relay, replacing Kaleb Lindsey-Stevens.
On the women’s side, USF will send three Pole Vaulters and a sprinter to compete in Salem. In the Pole Vault, USF will send a trio of athletes led by Brigitte Gross who notched her spot early in the season when she hit a NCAA automatic qualifying mark on January 11 when she vaulted 13-1.5 (4.00m). Gross competed at the 2012-13 Indoor Championships and came away with All-American honors when her vault of 13-7.25 (4.15m) which placed her fourth overall. Gross will be seeking her third All-American honors as she also placed in a tie for fourth at the Outdoor Championships last season. Joining Gross in the Pole Vault will be Courtney Crandall (12-6/3.81m) and Katlyn Sawtelle (12-6/3.81m). Crandall finished 6th at the NSIC Championships while Sawtelle finished 11th overall. While Sawtelle will be making her first appearance in the vault at the national championships, it will not be her first time competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships as she qualified in the Pentathlon in 2012-13 where she finished 12th with 3,352 points.
On the track, USF senior Kendra Knight will compete in her first Indoor Championships as she is set to compete in the 400m dash. Knight enters the meet with the 19th fastest time in DII when she ran a 56.74 at the Parents Day Open in Minneapolis, Minn. Knight is coming off a 3rd place finish at the NSIC Indoor Championships where she ran a 57.76.
ST. CLOUD STATE (2M)
St. Cloud State will send two athletes to the NCAA National Championships. George Kawalawu earned a spot in the 60 meter dash while Ryan Johnson will compete in the weight throw.
Kawalawu performance at the Ted Nelson Classic on Feb. 8 earned him a time of 6.78 to rank him second in the NSIC. This will be the third time Kawalawu has made it to the national stage in the 60m dash indoor competition.
Johnson, with a national qualifying mark of 64-0.50 placed second in the NSIC Championships on Feb. 28, Johnson is ranked second in the NSIC rankings. His mark is also a new school record, which he previously broke earlier this season with a mark of 63-04.25.
WAYNE STATE (3W)
Three athletes from Wayne State College have qualified in five events for the NCAA Division II Indoor National Track and Field Championships that will be held Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the JDL Fast Track.
Senior Carly Fehringer of Wayne and junior Sara Wells from Albion each qualified in the shot put and weight throw while senior Emily Wells of Albion also qualified in the weight throw. It's the second straight year that Fehringer has qualified for indoor nationals in both events and marks the third straight year that she has qualified for nationals in the weight throw. Fehringer ranks fourth in NCAA Division II in the weight throw after recording a season-best mark of 63' 8 ¾" on January 31 at the Minnesota State Open and compete in the weight throw at nationals on Friday, March 14 at 4 p.m. Central Time. Fehringer is a returning All-American in the weight throw after placing third last year with a throw of 64' 5 ¼". Fehringer will also compete in the shot put on Saturday, March 15th at 3:40 p.m. Central Time and is ranked ninth in NCAA Division II thanks to a season-best throw of 48' 7 ½" at the Concordia Invitational in Seward on February 14th.
Sara Wells will compete in the shot put for a second straight season while reaching indoor nationals in the weight throw for the first time. Sara earned the 17th and final spot in the weight throw field after throwing a season-best 57' 8 ¼" at last weekend's NSIC Indoor Championships in Bemidji, Minnesota. Wells enters nationals ranked fifth in the shot put after notching an automatic qualifying mark of 50' 2 ½" at the South Dakota Twilight Meet on February 21st.
Emily Wells has qualified for the weight throw at indoor nationals for a second straight season after winning the event at last weekend's NSIC Indoor Championships with a season-best effort of 59' 1 ½".
Wayne State is currently ranked 18th in this week's USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings and is hoping to improve on last year's 20th place finish at indoor nationals where the Wildcats scored nine points.
WINONA STATE (1 - 1 Relay)
Elisa Kupferschmid and the 4x400 meter relay have secured spots in the NCAA Division II Indoor Championship for the Winona State track and field team, the NCAA announced today. Kupferschmid earned her spot in the championship in the weight throw, recording a top mark of 18.03 meters in the event. Kupferschmid has the second-best toss in the NSIC this season in the weight throw and will be making her second appearance at an NCAA Championship meet.
The Warrior 4x400 meter relay of Kelsey Bethke, Taylor Vogel, Katie Bagley and Catherine Whitcomb also earned a spot in the national championship meet. The relay posted the second-fastest time in the event in WSU history this season, finishing just 0.03 seconds off the school record with a top time of 3:49.16.
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