KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The largest group of Indiana State athletes to ever compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship East Preliminary are gearing up for the competition which will be held next week. Twenty-two athletes have been accepted into the NCAA field with five individuals and a relay just missing the cut for the NCAA East Preliminary that will be held at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro May 23-25.

This is the fourth year of the current system of qualifying for the NCAA Championship Finals that will be held in Eugene, Ore., June 5-8. The Sycamores sent 15 athletes (10 women and five men) to the 2010 East Preliminary with 13 competing (six women and seven men) in the 2011 East Preliminary and 16 attending (five women and 11 men) the 2012 East Preliminary. Twenty-two athletes have qualified this year (11 men and 11 women).

The nation is divided into two sections where the first two rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are conducted. The top 12 individuals from each preliminary site advance to the NCAA Finals. The East site is in Greensboro, N.C., with the West site in Austin, Tx.

Justin Applegate, Dustin Betz, Derek Bunch, Chris Fields, Jonathan Jackson, Maurice Lyke, John Mascari, Brandon Pounds, Arqeil Shaw, Greggmar Swift, and Max Tuttle have qualified for the men's NCAA East Preliminary Round.

Nicole Hope, Felisha Johnson, Richelle Kimble, Leeann Michl, Kimyanna Rudolph, Shalesa Smith, Stacia Weatherford, and Katie Wise have qualified for the women's NCAA East Preliminary Round along the 4x100 meter relay team of Kaisha Martin, Macey Black, Demetra Camble, and Wise.

Five hurdlers have already qualified for the men's East Preliminary including Greggmar Swift and Maurice Lyke in the 110 meter hurdles and Jonathan Jackson, Max Tuttle, and Arqeil Shaw in the 400 meter hurdles.

Swift is making his third straight trip to the NCAAs as he enters the post-season with the eighth fastest 110 meter hurdle time in the nation of 13.52 seconds that he ran in winning the 2013 MVC title. The junior also ranks fourth on the East performance list. He finished 10th in the event at the 2012 NCAA Finals and missed a trip to the 2011 finals by a hundredth of a second.

Lyke will be making his second straight trip to the NCAAs and will compete in two events at the East Preliminary. The junior ranks 26th in the nation and 13th on the East performance list in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 13.83 seconds that he ran at the Billy Hayes Invitational. He finished 28th in the first round of the East Preliminary in 2012. He will also be competing in the long jump after winning the 2013 MVC title with a leap of 24'-5¾” (7.46m). The distance ranks 64th in the nation and 27th on the East performance list.

Jonathan Jackson, Max Tuttle, and Arqeil Shaw swept the top three spots in the finals of the 400 meter hurdles at the 2013 MVC Championships and all three will compete in the event at the East Preliminary. Jackson is making his second trip to the East Preliminary after winning the 2013 MVC title with a time of 51.78 seconds which ranks 43rd in the nation and 14th on the East performance list.  The sophomore ran in the 2011 East Preliminary and placed 41st in the first round.

Tuttle finished second at the MVC Championship in 51.82 seconds which ranks 45th in the nation and 16th on the East performance list. The junior will also be making his second trip to the East Preliminary after finishing 33rd in the first round last year. Shaw is making his first trip to the NCAAs after running 52.63 and finishing third at the MVC Championship. The sophomore's time ranks 95th in the nation and 45th on the East performance list.

Two other Sycamores will be competing on the track at the East Preliminary including Dustin Betz and John Mascari. Betz ran a season best 8:56.49 in placing third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the Drake Relays and was second at the MVCs. The senior will be making his second trip to the NCAAs after finishing 30th in 2012. His time ranks 58th in the nation and 23rd on the East performance list.

Mascari has run three 10,000 meter races this season and has won all three including setting a school record with a time of 29:19.74 at the Drake Relays. He also won at the Sea Ray Relays and captured the 2013 MVC Championship. This is the freshman's first trip to the NCAAs in track although he did compete in the NCAA Cross Country championship last Fall. His time ranks 23rd in the nation and is 12th on the East performance list.

Four men have qualified to compete in field events at the East Preliminary including Chris Fields, Brandon Pounds, Derek Bunch, and Justin Applegate.

Pounds threw a school record 215'-2” (65.58m) in the hammer throw at the Billy Hayes Invitational and will be making his second straight appearance in the event. He finished fifth at the NCAA Finals in 2012. The senior ranks 13th in the nation and sixth on the East performance list for the hammer throw. He has also qualified to compete in the discus for the second time with a distance of 170'-7” (52.00m) that he threw at the Sea Ray Relays. The distance ranks 109th in the nation and 45th on the East performance list. Pounds competed in the shot put (19th) and discus (36th) at the 2010 East Preliminary.

Bunch is making his first trip to the NCAAs after throwing 56'-10¼” (17.32m) in the shot put at the Sea Ray Relays. The freshman ranks 81st in the nation and 42nd on the East performance list. Applegate qualified in the hammer throw with a distance of 190'-4” (58.01m) at the Billy Hayes Invitational. The junior ranks 109th in the nation and 47th on the East performance list. This will be his first trip to the NCAAs.

Chris Fields missed by one spot of competing in the 2012 East Preliminary but will compete in the shot put this year after posting a season best distance of 55'-7½” (16.95m) at the Billy Hayes Invitational. The junior was ranked 105th in the nation and 52nd on the East performance list but moved up to 48th on he declared entries list.

Adarius Washington finished 51st on the East performance list in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.19 at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic as he missed the cut by just four hundredths of a second. Fields was 50th on the list for the hammer with a distance of 187'-5” (57.13m) at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic and missed the cut by five inches.

Three members of the women's team will be competing on the track at the East Preliminary including Leeann Michl, Katie Wise and Stacia Weatherford.

Michl will be making her second straight appearance in the NCAAs with a season best time of 2:07.91 in the 800 meters at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic. The senior's time currently ranks 102nd in the nation and 40th on the declared entries list for the East Preliminaries. She came close to advancing to the NCAA Finals in 2012 with a 15th place finish in the quarterfinals at the East Preliminary. The top 12 advanced to the NCAA Finals.

Wise will be making her first trip to the NCAAs after winning the 100 meters at the 2013 MVC Championship with a season best time of 11.41 seconds which ranks 26th in the nation and is ninth on the East performance list. The freshman is also the Valley's indoor 60 meter champion marking the first time since Jeanne Middleton in 2009 that a Sycamore has won both the indoor and outdoor sprint races. She also has a season best time of 23.92 seconds in the 200 meters while running the event only twice and both at the MVC Championships where she finished fifth overall. She missed making the cut for that event by just one hundredth of a second.

Weatherford will be making her second trip to the NCAAs after qualifying in both hurdle events for the 2013 East Preliminary. The senior ran 57.62 seconds to win the 400 meter title at the 2013 MVC Championship which ranks as the 15th fastest time in the nation and sixth on the East preliminary performance list. She competed in the event at the 2012 NCAAs and finished 19th at the NCAA Finals. She also qualified for the 100 meters hurdles after running 13.55 and finishing second at the MVC Championships but will be bypassing that event to concentrate on the 400 meter hurdles.

Also competing on the track will be the Sycamore 4x100 meter relay team which won the MVC title with a time of 45.16 seconds. Kaisha Martin, Macey Black, Demetra Camble, and Wise make up the relay which recorded the third fastest finish in Indiana State history. The team ranks 64th in the nation and 15th on the East performance list. The last relay that made the NCAAs was in 2010 when Erica Moore, Lauren Martin, Michl, and Weatherford ran the 4x400 meter relay and finished 19th at the East Preliminary.

Three pole vaulters, a jumper and a thrower have also qualified for the East Preliminary from the Sycamore track & field team including Nicole Hope, Kimyanna Rudolph, Richelle Kimble, Shalesa Smith, and Felisha Johnson.

This will be Kimble's fourth trip to the NCAAs in the pole vault as she qualified by clearing 13'-0½” (3.97m) at the Billy Hayes Invitational. She just missed a spot at the NCAA Finals a year ago with a 14th place finish in the 2012 East Preliminary. The senior ranks 64th in the nation and 30th on the East performance list for the event. She was second at the 2013 MVC Championships.

Johnson is also making her fourth trip to the NCAAs and has qualified for three events for the third straight year. The senior set the Indiana State record in the shot put with a throw of 59'-7” (18.16m) at the Drake Relays which ranks second in the nation and is the best throw on the East performance list. The 2013 MVC Champion in the event will be competing for the fourth straight year in the NCAAs and finished fifth a year ago at the NCAA Finals and 18th in 2011.

The Sycamore won the MVC Championship in the discus with a season best throw of 170'-7” (53.28m) which ranks 29th in the nation and seventh on the East performance list. Johnson competed in the discus in the 2012 NCAAs and finished 22nd at the NCAA Finals. She also qualified in the hammer throw with a season best distance of 195'-4” (59.53m) at the MVC Championship where she placed fourth. The distance ranks 42nd in the nation and 17th on the East performance list. This is her third straight year of competing in the event at the NCAAs.

Hope is making her second trip to the NCAAs in the pole vault after clearing a career best 13'-9¼” (4.20m) at the Jesse Owens Track Classic this season. The height ranks 15th in the nation and fifth on the East performance list. The senior missed the 2012 season due to an injury but competed in the 2011 NCAAs where she tied for 24th at the East Preliminary. She recently won her second MVC title in the event.

Rudolph is making her first appearance in the NCAAs after clearing 13'-5¼” (4.10mn) at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic. The freshman ranks 27th in the nation and 12th on the East performance list.

Shalesa Smith has qualified for the triple jump with a leap of 41'-2½” (12.56m) at the Drake Relays. The senior currently ranks 67th in the nation and 37th on the East performance list.

Four other members of the women's team and a relay just missed making the cut for the NCAAs. Camble ran 11.68 in the 100 meters at the MVC Championships which was 52nd on the East performance list and just three hundredths of second away from qualifying. Black ran 54.54 in the 400 meters at the MVC Championships which is 51st on the East performance list and five hundredths away from making the cut. Ioanna Koltsidou cleared 5'-8” (1.73m) in the high jump at the Drake Relays and was 57th on the East performance list, just three-quarters of an inch shy of the cut line.

Carmelia Stewart had a season best triple jump of 40'-11” (12.47m) at the MVC Championships which ranked 54th on the East list and just 1¼” short of the cut line. She also ran 13.84 in the 100 hurdles at the Billy Hayes Invitational which put her 56th on the East list and just six hundredths of a second off the final accepted time.

The Sycamore 4x400 meter relay team of Shelby Higginbottom, Michl, Weatherford, and Black set a school record and a Missouri Valley Conference Championship record of 3:38.76 in winning the event at the 2013 MVC Championships which put them 25th on the East list and just 0.12 seconds away from a qualifying berth.