Emory University seniors Hannah Smith and James Bassen, junior Lukas Mees, sophomore Grant Murphy and freshman Daniel Pietsch were each selected to compete at the 2015 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York from Thursday, May 21st – Saturday, May 23rd.
Selections to the field of competitors were awarded to the top-20 men and top-22 women in each individual event, and the top-16 relays (one per school) during the 2015 season. All five Emory athletes will be making their NCAA Track and Field Championship debuts at the meet.
Smith will be scheduled to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with the preliminaries scheduled for 5:20 pm on Thursday. The top four finishers in each of the two heats and the next six fastest times will all advance to the finals on Saturday at 12:30 pm. Smith has the 18th-fastest seeded time in the event, with a mark of 10:55.18, record at last week's Gregory Invitational.
Bassen will be competing in the javelin throw, the preliminaries and finals of which will at 11:30 am on Saturday. He is seeded seventh in the event with a season-best and school-record throw of 61.87 meters, set at the 2015 UAA Championships in April.
Mees notched a program-record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:10.58 at the Gregory Invitational last week, earning entry to the NCAA field in the event with the 17th-fastest seed time. He will compete in the preliminaries at 5:50 pm on Thursday, with the top four finishers in each of the two heats and the next six fastest times moving to the finals on Saturday at 12:50 pm.
Murphy earned entry to the 1,500-meter run, as he tied for the 19th-fastest seed time among competitors in the event after breaking his own school record with a time of 3:50.91 at the Gregory Invitational on Friday. The preliminaries of the event are slated for 4:00 pm on Thursday, with the top four finishers in each heat and the next four fastest times advancing to the finals on Saturday at 1:40 pm.
Pietsch set a conference record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.50 at the 2015 UAA Championships, earning a berth to the event with the fourth-fastest time among the field of competitors. He will be Emory's lone competitor on Friday, participating in the preliminaries of the event at 6:00 pm. The top-two finishers in each of the three heats and the next two fastest times will advance to the finals of the 400-meter dash at 2:25 pm on Saturday.
The NCAA will provide a webcast and live results from the meet, with links available from the official website of the Division III Championships at http://www.saintsathletics.com/sports/2015/4/21/WTRACK_0421154811.aspx?path=wtrack.
Five Eagles Selected to Compete at NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Posted: May 17, 2015