MASON CITY, Iowa – Nineteen NIACC track and field athletes will make the trip to the NJCAA Indoor National Championships in Charleston, IL on March 2.
The women’s team had nine athletes qualify for 11 events. The men had 10 qualify for eight events.
Sophomore distance runner Anna Buenneke (So., Hazleton, IA) will look to repeat as champion in the 3000- and 5000- meter runs. She will also compete in the mile and as part of two relay teams. Buenneke holds the top time in the NJCAA in the 5000-meters and has the second best time in the 3000-meters this season.
Buenneke will join Tanesha Edmond (So., St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) and Darcy Nelson (So., Lake Mills, IA) for the 4×800-meter and distance medley relays. Emma Pogreba (Fr., Browerville, MN) will be the fourth runner for the 4×800, and Ashley Ubbelohde (So., Waterloo, IA) will round out the distance medley team.
Edmond will also complete in the pentathlon after placing second at the Minnesota State Open. She never competed in that event before that meet. In the NJCAA, she has the fourth best score for that event with 1375.
Rounding out NIACC’s race qualifiers are Abby Muhlenbruch (Fr., Latimer, IA) in the 400-meters and Hillary Garvey (Fr., Hudson, IA) in the 600-meters. In field events, freshman thrower Emily Burchett (Fr., Mayview, MO) qualified for the shot put and weight throw, and freshman McKenna Wragge (Fr., Hampton, IA) will compete in the high jump.
On the men’s side, RJ Harris (So., Des Moines, IA) and OJ Ojullu (Fr., Worthington, MN) will both run the 800-meters and be members of the 4×800 and distance medley relay teams. They will race with Andy Corcoran and Jonny Worley (Fr., Greene, IA) in the 4×800 and Marquez Hobson (So., Minneapolis, MN) and Cesar Guevara (Fr., Ackley, IA) in the distance medley.
Guevara will be running individually in the 600-meters after qualifying last weekend at the Region XI Indoor Championships.
The Trojans also qualified a pair of distance runners. Cody Manchester (So., Mason City, IA) and Trent Smith (Fr., Charles City, IA) both will run in the 3000- and 5000-meter runs. Smith currently has the fourth best time in the 5000 with his time of 15:18.72 at the Region XI Championships.
Throwers Lance Maxwell (So., Racine, WI) and Trey Taylor (Fr., Bloomfield, CT) will both go nationals for the weight throw. Maxwell will also be competing in the shot put.
The meet will be held on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, and will be held next Friday and Saturday.
