Around the track: NCAA Division II gets underway; Benita Fitzgerald Mosley expected to be named USATF chief of sport performance...

The NCAA Division II track and field championships get underway Thursday at the LeGrand Sports Complex in San Angelo, Texas hosted by Angelo State University.

Seattle Pacific will send six women to San Angelo, led by top-seeded junior Jessica Pixler in the 1,500 meters and three-time All-American senior Lauren VerMulm in the javelin.

Western Washington sends nine athletes to San Angelo, led by distance runner Sarah Porter, who hopes to earn her third All-American honor this school year to add to her accomplishments during the cross country and indoor track seasons.

National indoor shot put champion Krissy Tandle is Central Washington's lone entrant in the national championships, as she takes aim at her second national title.

Here are links to press releases from Seattle Pacific and Western Washington.

Also, here's a link to Angelo State University's web site for live results of the Division II championships.

USA Track & Field will hold a national teleconference at 11:30 am pacific time Thursday, where CEO Doug Logan and president Stephanie Hightower are expected to announce the hiring of Benita Fitzgerald Mosley as the organization's first chief of sport performance.

Mosley (left/photo courtesy Women's Sports Foundation), a 1984 gold medalist in the 100 meter hurdles, was on the Project 30 committee along with Olympians Carl Lewis, Deena Kastor, and Federal Way's Aretha Thurmond, that made several major recommendations to the federation, including a more professional national team staff, and the termination of the national relay program.

According to the Washington Post's Amy Shipley who broke the story, Fitzgerald Mosley was a natural choice for the position, as she is still close to the sport, but has remained apart from the internal politics of USA Track & Field.

Currently serving as President and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications, Fitzgerald Mosley previously worked with the USOC in various administrative and developmental capacities, including as Director of Olympic Training Centers from 1997-2000. She is a trustee and past president of the Women's Sports Foundation Board of Trustees. A native of Virginia, she was named Top Female Sports Figure of the Century from the state by Sports Illustrated.

UPDATE: Here is a link to USA Track & Field's official press release announcing the hire of Fitzgerald Mosley.