Taylor Track Set for NAIA Indoor Nationals
TU Women's TF NAIA Championships Central | TU Men's TF NAIA Championships Central
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men's and women's indoor track and field teams will close their seasons at the NAIA Indoor National Championships on February 29 through March 2, when they compete inside the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
Taylor will have 20 student-athletes competing in 12 different events over the course of the three-day meet. The TU women will showcase 10 individuals competing in seven events, with the men's squad having 10 individuals competing in five events.
The Taylor women's team will enter Nationals carrying a No. 8 rating in the most recent USTFCCCA NAIA ratings index. The Trojans carry top-five seeds to Nationals in four events and boast a total of six top-seven seeds.
The Trojans' strongest event comes with Mollie Gamble and Audrey Brinkruff ranked third and fourth in the 5,000-meters. TU will also carry lofty expectations with its two relays, seeded third in the distance-medley relay and fifth in the 4x800-meter relay. The group of Emily Johnson, Ashley Hall, Abby Mays and Noel VanderWall are set to run in the distance-medley relay, with Johnson, Mays, Kaitlin Burden and Olivia Jeanette racing in the 4x800.
Along with running the distance-medley relay, VanderWall is seeded fourth in the mile, while Taylor's other top-seed comes via Ahna Neideck being ranked seventh nationally in the 3,000-meters.
Patience Sakeuh and Hall will also represent Taylor on the heels of their Crossroads League Championship individual performances, with Sakeuh seeded 23rd in the 60-meter hurdles and Hall seeded 26th in the 400-meters.
On the men's side, TU's strongest event figures to be the pole vault, where Josh Forbes and Isaac Brown are seeded fourth and 14th respectively.
The Trojans will also have Nathan Burns and Luke Harber competing in the 5,000-meters and Ryan Hanak racing in the 3,000-Meters, while Jake Thompson competes in the long jump.
TU's lone qualifying relay team of Nate Conkel, Ben Eiffert, Bradley Braxton and Joel Mumaw will race in the distance-medley relay.
Any individual or relay finishing among the top-eight at NAIA Nationals will automatically earn NAIA All-American honors, in addition to scoring points for the team standings.
TU is set to open its showing at Nationals on Thursday, February 29 at 3:00 pm (ET) with Gamble and Brinkruff taking the track in the 5,000-meters prelims. The men's team will open shortly after, with Burns and Harber racing in the men's 5,000 prelims.
Fans can access the NAIA's pay-per-view webcast, live results, full events schedule and more by visiting the Taylor Indoor Track and Field National Championships Centrals at the links provided above.
Taylor Women's Qualifiers and Seed
DMR: Emily Johnson, Ashley Hall, Abby Mays, Noel VanderWall (3)
5,000: Mollie Gamble (3), Audrey Brinkruff (4)
Mile: Noel VanderWall (4)
4x800: Emily Johnson, Kaitlin Burden, Abby Mays, Olivia Jeanette (5)
3,000: Ahna Neideck (7)
60-H: Patience Sakeuh (23)
400: Ashley Hall (26)
Taylor Men's Qualifiers and Seed
PV: Josh Forbes (4), Isaac Brown (14)
5,000: Nathan Burns (12), Luke Harber (32)
3,000: Ryan Hanak (16)
DMR: Nate Conkel, Ben Eiffert, Bradley Braxton, Joel Mumaw (20)
LJ: Jake Thompson (25)