NCAA Division II outdoor champs qualifiers announced...
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| Western Washington javelin thrower Jakob Braunstein threw a lifetime best 224-10 (68.54m) at a last-chance meet in Burnaby, BC to earn a spot in the national champs (Paul Merca photo) |
INDIANAPOLIS--The NCAA Tuesday afternoon announced the athletes qualified to compete at next weekend's NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships May 21-23, 2025 at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas, hosted by Emporia State University.
Qualifiers for the Division II championships were ranked in the top 22 in each event, except for the combined events and the relays. Combined events individuals and relay teams had to be in the top 16.
WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Western Washington men will be led by 400 hurdler Maurice Woodring, who has the number 2 time in Division II at 50.69.
Woodring will be joined by discus thrower Liam Wall, who goes into the national championships with the number 5 mark at 188-4 (57.40m), along with hammer thrower Calvin Gutierrez (10th) at 210-1 (64.03m), and javelin thrower Jakob Braunstein (12th) at 224-10 (68.54m).
Braunstein who was on the bubble after the GNAC championships, qualified for the meet at the Emilie Mondor Invitational in Burnaby on Saturday, where he threw his lifetime best.
Lucas Brenek in the 400 is the only other running event qualifier in an individual event, where he's seeded 17th at 46.55. The Vikings' 4 x 400 relay team of Jackson Moffitt, Sam Foust, Evin Ford, and Brenek is also in the meet as the ninth best team at 3:08.81.
Bec Bennett in the 400 meters at 52.56 and the women's 4 x 400 relay team of Casie Kleine, Jayda Darroch, Kennedy Cook, and Bennett at 3:37.64 are the top seeded Vikings going to Kansas. Both are seeded at number 5.
Jessica Polkinghorn is entered in both the shot put at 48-9.5 (14.87m) and the javelin at 152-11 (46.61m). She's seeded number 12 in the shot and 15th in the javelin.
Hammer thrower Kathryn Chapin, who is seeded 12th at 186-2 (56.75m) is the final thrower who qualified for nationals.
Middle distance runner Emmy Kroontje, who was outside the top 25 on the NCAA descending order list, got one of the final spots in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:26.27 with scratches from athletes opting for other events. She was 26th on the descending order list.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
Central Washington will be led by Elise Hopper, the conference champion at both 200 and 400 meters, who will potentially have a busy three days. She's entered in the 200, where she has the 17th fastest time at 23.53, and the 400, where she's seeded fourth at 52.48.
She's on both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams. In the 4 x 100, she'll team up with Ashlyn Nielsen, Zoe Gonzales, and Layla Fields, who ran 45.31. In the 4 x 400, she'll be joined by Ellie DeGroot, Carley Huber, Donna Marie Harris, where they're seeded fourth at 3:36.90.
DeGroot will get to run the 400 hurdles in addition to her relay duties, where she's seeded 19th at 59.31.
Shot putter Maliyah Gordon, who is seeded 19th at 48-0.75 (14.65m) is the only field event athlete for the Wildcats on the women's side.
The Wildcats' two men's competitors are 400 hurdler Josh Boast, who is seeded 15th at 51.45, and decathlete Drew Klein, who is seeded 16th at 6908 points.
SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Falcons' lone competitor at nationals is 400 runner Justin Brooks. The GNAC runner-up in this event is seeded 13th at 46.44.
OTHERS WITH WASHINGTON TIES
Aberdeen HS grad Julian Campos of Adams State goes into the national championships in both the 5000 and the 10000.
In the 10000, Campos is the national leader at 28:40.63, while in the 5000, he's seeded 16th at 13:58.08.
Former Central Washington standout Ramon Rodriguez, who now competes for Tiffin, is entered in the 5000, where he's seeded seventh at 13:46.85. He also ran the 1500 this season in 3:41.39, which was good enough to get a spot in that event, but scratched to concentrate on the 5000.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA and the NCAA contributed to this report.
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