Storm send trio to nationals
INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson track and field team qualified three individuals for the 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Junior Isaac Frazier (decathlon), sophomore Dylan Kalinay (110-meter hurdles) and freshman Emmitt Wheatley (100-meter dash) will represent the Storm on May 26-28 in Waverly, Iowa.
Accepted Entries
Schedule of Events
Championship Webpage (go-knights.net)
Frazier posted the No. 8 decathlon score in the nation when he tallied a career-best 6,504 points at North Central's Gregory National Qualifier last week. The 2016 Iowa Conference Indoor Field MVP and defensive end on the football team will compete at nationals for the first time. He is looking to become Simpson's first multi-event All-American since John Cord placed sixth in 2013.
Kalinay will make his second trip to outdoor nationals after placing 14th in the 110-meter hurdles as a freshman in 2015. A year later, Kalinay has his sights set on qualifying for finals. He posted the No. 10 time in Division III when he ran 14.37 at the Wis.-La Crosse National Qualifier last week. The last time a Simpson athlete took home All-America honors in the 110 hurdles was Mike Godbout in 1991.
While Frazier and Kalinay knew their tickets were punched Thursday, Wheatley had to wait until the NCAA officially released the championship field Saturday morning. His 10.68 in the prelims at the Iowa Conference Championships was tied for 19th in Division III, but the tiebreaking criteria had him at 21st, one spot out of the field.
Wheatley moved up when Hugh Pegan of Occidental decided not to declare in the 100 meters, opting to focus on the 200, 4x100 and 4x400 instead. The move allows the five-time All-IIAC performer to perform on the national stage for the first time.
Schedule
Thursday, May 26
12 p.m. - Decathlon (Frazier)
Friday, May 27
12 p.m. - Decathlon (Frazier)
4:15 p.m. - 110-meter hurdle prelims (Kalinay)
5:15 p.m. - 100-meter dash prelims (Wheatley)
Saturday, May 28
1:50 p.m. - 110-meter hurdle finals (Kalinay)
2:30 p.m. - 100-meter dash finals (Wheatley)
