Gorlok Duo Qualify for Indoor Nationals
For the third consecutive year, Webster University will be represented in the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships, but this year the Gorloks will send two student-athletes to compete at this national championship meet when the NCAA unveiled the qualifiers for this year's meet on Sunday evening. This year's national championship meet is scheduled for March 13-14 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., and will be hosted by Visit Winston-Salem and Guilford College.
The Gorloks that qualified for this year's Division III Indoor National Championships were junior Jacob Ridenhour (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville) and senior Daisha Reece (Norman, Okla./Rogers State). Ridenhour qualified for the second consecutive year, while Reece becomes the first-ever female student-athlete to qualify for the national championships in track and field.
In this year's Indoor National Championships, Ridenhour earned one of 20 qualifying spots in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, while Reece earned one of 20 qualifying spots in the women's long jump. Last season, Ridenhour earned a spot in the 2019 Indoor National Championships in the 60-meter dash and also competed in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes at last year's NCAA D-III Outdoor National Championships.
"What a tremendous accomplishment for our track and field program and for our school to have the opportunity to send two student-athletes to this year's Indoor National Championships," said Webster Track and Field coach Nick Niehaus. "Jake has had a tremendous year in the sprint events, and for Daisha to qualify and become the school's first female qualifier is just outstanding and shows the growth of our program."
Webster is now sending a competitor to run in the men's 60-meter dash for the third consecutive season as Caleb Clemons became the first-ever Webster University track athlete either male or female to qualify for the NCAA National Championships in 2018, while Ridenhour qualified last season.
Ridenhour earned his second consecutive trip to the indoor national championships in the 60-meter dash after running a school-record 6.85 in the event at the Missouri Collegiate Challenge, while he earned his spot in the 200-meter dash after running a school and meet record time of 21.97 at the Wartburg College Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday in Waverly, Iowa. Ridenhour's 200-meter time bettered his old school mark 22.33 at this year's Missouri Collegiate Challenge and also bettered the Wartburg Last Chance Qualifier record of 21.99 set in 2018 by Wisconsin-La Crosse's Ernest Winters.
Meanwhile, Reece qualified in the long jump after recording a new school record jump of 5.58 meters (18'3.75") at this year's inaugural St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships to take home gold medal honors in the event. At Saturday's Wartburg Last Chance Qualifier, Reece finished second in the event with a leap of 5.45 meters (17'10.75") and that leap was her second-best mark of the year.
Entering the NCAA D-III National Indoor Championships, Ridenhour's time of 6.85 in the 60-meter dash is seventh and is seeded seventh in the national championships field of 20 competitors. The preliminaries for the men's 60-meter dash are scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 3:50 p.m. EST, with the top eight qualifiers in the prelims advancing to Saturday's national championship final, which is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST.
While Ridenhour is seeded seventh in the 60-meter dash, the reigning national runner-up in the Outdoor 200-meter dash is seeded fourth in this year's indoor 200-meter dash with his time of 21.97, which is tied for third-fastest qualifying time among the field of 20 competitors. The preliminaries for the men's 200-meter dash are scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 5:20 p.m. EST, with the top eight qualifiers in the prelims advancing to Saturday's national championship final, which is scheduled for 4:20 p.m. EST.
Meanwhile, Reece is seeded 20th among the field of 20 competitors in the women's long jump with her leap of 5.58 meters. The preliminary round for the women's long jump (each competitor will get three attempts) is scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 12:50 p.m. EST, with the top nine performances advancing to the finals, which will also be held on March 13.
At last year's NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships, Ridenhour tied for 11th in the 60-meter dash as he recorded a time of 6.902 in the preliminary round as was just two-hundredths of a second from earning a spot in the finals.
2020 NCAA Division III Indoor National Qualifiers List - MEN'S - WOMEN'S
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