SUWANEE, Ga. - The SCAC will be well represented at the NCAA Division III National Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet which begins May 24th at Fritz B. Burns Stadium in Claremont, California. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges is serving as host of this year's championship meet. QUALIFIERS | EVENT SCHEDULE
For the women, Birmingham-Southern College, Centre College, Hendrix College and Rhodes College will each have individual representives at the 2012 Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
Birmingham-Southern will be led by 2012 SCAC Track Athlete-of-the-Year, sophomore Tiarra Goode. Earlier this year, Goode became the Panthers' first-ever national champion at the Division III level, in the school's first year of full eligibility by winning the 60-meter indoor hurdles in a time of 8.56 seconds. The sophomore, who is competing in her first NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, qualified in the 100-meter dash with the fifth-best time in the nation (11.95), the 200-meter dash with the second-best time in the nation (24.23), and the 100-meter hurdles, also with the second-best time in the nation (13.93). Goode is joined by junior teammate Jessica Thornton, who qualified in the 800-meters with the 12th-best time in the nation (2:10.70). Thornton won the 800-meter run at the 2012 SCAC Track and Field Championships in a time of 2:14.54.
Leading the Rhodes contingent that qualified for the NCAA Championships is Sadie Yanckello, the SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year. Yanckello qualified individually in the 400-meter hurdles with the 12th-best time in the nation (1:02.12), and she will be joined in the event by freshman teammate Taryn Burgess. Burgess qualified with a time of 1:02.66. Junior Lindsay Svehla qualified in the 100-meter dash with the 22nd-best time in the nation (12.14).
Winners of five straight SCAC Women's Track & Field team
titles, Rhodes also qualified both relay teams at the 2012
Nationals. Joining Yanckello on the 4x400 relay team is junior
Megan Lee, sophomore Jessica Burman and first-year runner Chelsea
Temple. The group qualified with the 10th-best time in the nation
at 3:49.94. Svehla, Yankcello and Temple will be joined by
sophomore Mary Kate Mullen in the 4x100 relay having qualified with
the 14th-best time at 47.56.
Centre sends senior Emily Niehaus as its lone individual to
represent the Colonels. Niehaus, the 2012 SCAC Co-Field
Athlete-of-the-Year, earned all-America honors as a junior with a
fifth-place finish in the hammer throw. Niehaus qualified again
this year in the hammer throw with the fourth-best throw in the
nation (54.85m).
Elizabeth Krug, 2012 SCAC Co-Field Athlete-of-the-Year, will be the lone representative for Hendrix after earning all-American honors as a freshman in the heptathlon with a seventh-place finish a year ago. Krug became just the school's third NCAA D-III Track & Field all-American and will once again compete in the heptathlon after qualifying with the sixth-best overall score (4619) this year.
The SCAC did not have any male student-athletes to qualify for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
To follow all of the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, set to begin Thursday, May 24th, click here.
