Patterson, Achebe, and Latcham to compete at the NCAA Indoor National Championships

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Ulysses Patterson, Kendrick Achebe, and Clarke Latcham will travel to Rochester, New York for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships starting on Friday, March 14.

Patterson earned his spot in the Heptathlon after breaking his own school record at the A-R-C Indoor Championships on March 1. The senior became the first Storm athlete to break the 5,000 point mark, finishing with 5,021 points, which also set the conference meet record. For his efforts, Patterson was named the A-R-C Field Athlete of the Meet.

In his final chance to qualify, Achebe came through in the clutch, shattering the school record in the 60m dash with a time of 6.81 to earn his spot on the biggest stage. Achebe set himself up for one final opportunity after earning second in the prelims with a time of 6.87 seconds, just 0.03 seconds off the school record. Corey Carrell's time of 6.84 had held the top spot since 1995 until last Saturday, when Achebe shattered the record in the finals with his 6.81 mark.

After the initial release of national qualifiers, Latcham was added to the Heptathlon list when a roster spot opened up. Like Achebe, Latcham put on his best performance of the season in the final qualifier of the season, finishing with 4,825 points last weekend. His highest scoring events came in the 60m dash (789 points) and the 60m hurdles (779 points). His 4,825 points puts him second all-time in school history, just behind his teammate Patterson.

Entering the National Championships, Patterson sits ninth in the country with his 5,021 mark while Achebe is tied for 17th, and Latcham is 21st. For Patterson, he will be looking to add his third All-American honor to his trophy mantle, while for Achebe, and Latcham, it would be their first honors.

The National Championships will be a two-day event, starting on Friday, March 14. Live results and video of the meet will be available on simpsonathletics.com and ncaa.com.