PITTSBURG, Kan. - E'lexis Hollis, Lauryn Chandler, Emy Ntekpere, & Drew Klein qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships on March 8th and 9th at the Robert W. Plaster Center on the campus of Pittsburg State University. This is the largest number of Wildcats competing at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships since sending seven athletes to the meet in 2019.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JONATHAN HILL
"It's always a special accomplishment being invited to the hardest meet to make, the NCAA Championships. This is an elite group of the top 14-16 athletes in the country at what they do. We try to train like the best, this weekend, we'll be able to see how our preparations compare.
Our goal is not to gain experience; we've got that. We want to compete to advance and score. All-American and Academic All American are the pinnacle achievements in our sport, those awards are on the line this weekend and we are so excited to compete to earn a few!"
Hollis, a senior from Ellensburg, Wash., comes in at the number three qualifying spot for the women's 60-meter dash. Hollis earned that spot with a school and conference record run of 7.29 seconds at the GNAC Indoor Championships back on Feb. 20. This is Hollis' second trip to the indoor national meet after qualifying last year in the same event where she finished in 14th place.
Chandler, a fifth-year senior from Bremerton, Wash., qualified for the 60-meter hurdles at the 13th spot. On her way to her second consecutive GNAC 60-meter hurdle title, Chandler ran a personal best of 8.55 seconds to get into the national meet. This is also Chandler's second trip to the indoor national meet after qualifying last year in the same event where she finished in 13th place.
Ntekpere, a freshman from Vancouver, Wash., qualified for both the triple jump and high jump. Ntekpere is seeded as the eighth qualifier in the high jump and 13th in the triple jump. In her freshman campaign thus far, Ntekpere has made her mark in the CWU record books. She has broken the school record in the triple jump (12.30m/40'4.25") and long jump (5.70m/19') while landing at number two in CWU history for the high jump (1.74m/5'8.5").
Klein, a junior from Auburn, Wash., qualified at the 14th spot for the heptathlon. Klein qualified with a score of 5198 points, set earlier this year at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial, which is good for third in CWU history. Of the seven events in the heptathlon, the pole vault is Klein's greatest strength. His school record vault of 4.95m (16'2.75") is higher than all but one of his heptathlon competitors heading into the meet.
The Championship will start day one on March 8th; Hollis & Chandler will look to advance out of the prelim rounds, Ntekpere will compete in the high jump, & Klein will complete four of the seven events in the Heptathlon. On March 9th; Hollis & Chandler will compete in finals if they successfully advance out of prelims, Ntekpere will compete in her second event with the triple jump, & Klein will finish out the final three of seven events.
