GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota senior Shawn Johnson and sophomores Stephanie Clarke and Jayd Eggert have been selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Preliminary Championships competition.
The trio will compete in the West Preliminary Championship, hosted by the University of Arkansas from May 29-31.
“Getting someone to the first round of the national championships is always a great thing,” said UND Head Coach Kevin Galbraith. “It's not easy. You have to be among the top 50 in your region. To get one is tremendous; to get three is a great accomplishment for our program. As a coach, you work to get your student-athletes to the highest possible level, so this is really exciting.”
Johnson will compete in the shot put and discus after earning All-Big Sky Conference honors in both events last weekend. His discus throw of 178 feet, 6 inches (54.42 meters) ranks second in the Big Sky and 33rd in the region, while his shot put mark of 56-6 ½ (17.23) ranks third in the Big Sky and 46th in the region.
Johnson, a native of Eveleth, Minn., also qualified for the West Preliminary in both events last season, placing 19th in the discus and 45th in the shot put.
Clarke will compete in the 400-meters after winning the Big Sky championship last weekend in Flagstaff, Ariz., the first Big Sky title in UND track and field history. She ran a school-record time of 54.03 seconds, which ranks her third in the conference and 44th in the region. It will be the first NCAA appearance for the native of Edmonton, Alberta.
Like her classmate Clarke, Eggert will also be making the first NCAA appearance of her collegiate career. The Minot, N.D., native will compete in the javelin and currently ranks sixth in the Big Sky and 42nd in the region with a throw of 150-5 (45.86).
As a freshman in 2012-13, Eggert advanced to the U.S. Junior Track & Field Outdoor Championships in the javelin and earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish.
Click HERE for the complete list of NCAA Preliminary Championships participants.
For more information regarding the Division I men's and women's outdoor track and field championships, visit www.ncaa.com.
