Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
Sophomore Nika Ouellette, senior Morgan Powers, and junior Kirsten Weberg from the Vermont women's track & field team will travel to the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships this week. The event runs from Wednesday (June 6) to Saturday (June 9) at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ouellette will compete in the javelin throw for the second straight year at the NCAA Championships after placing 19th overall at last year's event to earn All-America honors. Powers (10000-meter run) and Weberg (3000-meter steeplechase) are both set to run in their first NCAA national meet.
The javelin finals (3:40 p.m.) and steeplechase prelims (8:45 p.m.) both take place on Wednesday, while the 10000-meter is Thursday at 8:45 p.m. Live results are available via Flash Results, and fans can access a live stream for free via NCAA.com (Wednesday) and ESPN3.com (Thursday-Saturday).
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
LAST TIME OUT – NCAA EAST PRELIMINARY ROUND | Results | CatamounTV Highlights
Nika Ouellette and Morgan Powers each placed second overall, while Kirsten Weberg finished seventh at the 2012 NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 24 and 25 in Jacksonville, Fla. All three advanced to this week's National Championships by earning a spot in the top-12 of their individual events.
Ouellette posted a throw of 48.81 meters (160'1'') in the javelin on her third attempt and led the competition after the first three rounds. Penn State freshman Lauren Kenney had the best overall mark with a throw of 49.65 in the fourth round, but Ouellette easily qualified for the NCAA Finals as the 10th overall seed.
Powers entered the 10000-meter run seeded 21st but narrowly missed winning the race with a time of 34:19.38. She crossed the finish line just 0.56 seconds behind senior Catherine White of Virginia, who won the event in 34:18.82. Powers is seeded 12th as she makes her first career NCAA Championship appearance.
Weberg broke the school record in the steeplechase for the third time this season and posted a time of 10:03.72, which broke the record she set at the America East Championships (10:17.84) by more than 14 seconds. She placed third in her heat and seventh overall, earning the 8-seed in the semifinal on Wednesday.
LAST YEAR'S NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS | Results
Nika Ouellette finished 19th in women's javelin last June as a freshman at the 2011 NCAA Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium. Ouellette was making Vermont's first ever NCAA National Championship appearance as she opened the competition seeded 20th out of 24 competitors.
She registered her best mark of the day on her second throw with a distance of 45.66 meters. It marked her third best throw of the season and helped her move up one spot in the competition. Brittany Borman from Oklahoma won the individual national title with a career best throw of 54.32 on her fourth attempt.
OUELLETTE THROWS HER WAY INTO RECORD BOOK
Nika Ouellette broke the women's conference and school record at the 2012 America East Outdoor Championships to defend her league title. She posted a mark of 49.98 meters (164 feet) on her final throw and won the event by more than seven meters. Ouellette's record-breaking throw edged the previous record of 49.89, which was held by former Catamount Danielle Lewis '98.
Ouellette helped Vermont continue its tradition of success in the javelin as it swept the men's and women's events with standout performances. The Catamounts earned a total of 33 points in both javelin competitions and had five athletes score during the league championships in Maine.
POWERS GOES THE DISTANCE AS A SENIOR
Morgan Powers came within a half second of winning the women's 10000-meter run at the NCAA Regional two weeks ago, qualifying for the national meet in her final season. The senior has earned all-conference honors in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field this year while being named to the league's all-academic team in all three sports.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native was named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District honors last week and is now eligible to be selected for the Capital One Academic All-America team. She is also a nominee for the America East Woman of the Year award, given to a senior female student-athlete who has exemplified a commitment to service, leadership, athletics and academics.
WEBERG SETS THE BAR IN STEEPLECHASE
Weberg has already broken her own school record in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase three times during the outdoor season. She captured her first career America East title in the event on May 5, winning the race by nearly 20 seconds with a time of 10:17.84. The junior went on to shatter that record in 10:03.72 three weeks later at the NCAA Regional, as she met the Olympic Trials B standard with her time.
