SLIAC To Represented By Four At NCAA Division III Track and Field Nationals
Four student-athletes from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) are headed to the 2016 NCAA Division III Track and Field National Championship this weekend in Waverly, Iowa. Conrad Bollinger, from Principia College; and Chelsea Giles, Andrew Sharp, and Jarrid Williams, from Greenville College will be headed north to compete at this year's championships.
Conrad Bollinger, a senior from Portland, Maine, is making his third consecutive appearance at the championships; qualifying in the pole vault. Bollinger qualified this season with a height of 16'3.25", making the mark last week at the North Central Invitational. His height was 13th best in Division III this year and he will look to improve on his fourth place finish at last year's championships.
Chelsea Giles, a junior from Morton, Ill., qualified in the 400 meter race, doing so in her last outing at the NCCAA Championships two weeks ago. Giles' time of 54.93 seconds in the event was the best in the SLIAC this season by nearly five seconds and was the second fastest at the Division III level this season. She is the lone female representative from the SLIAC at the national championships this year.
Andrew Sharp qualified for the championships in the 800 meter run, with a time of 1:51.38, setting his qualifying time a month ago while competing in the Rose-Hulman Twilight Invitational. Sharp, a sophomore from Altamont, Ill., was tops in the SLIAC with his time by nearly three seconds and holds the sixth fastest time in Division III this season.
Williams, a junior from Lovejoy, Ga., qualified for the championships in the long jump with a distance of 23'8.75", over a foot further than the closest competitor in the SLIAC. Wiliams' jump was sixth best in the nation this year.
For complete information regarding the 2016 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships including ticket pricing, directions, and event schedule click HERE
For each men’s individual event contested, including the decathlon, the top 20 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each women’s individual event contested, including the heptathlon, the top 22 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 16 declared relay teams, one per institution, were accepted into the competition.
The championships will be held May 26-28 at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The complete list of qualifiers is available on the following website: http://results.deltatiming.com/ncaa/tf/2016-ncaa-d3-outdoor-championships
