The NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee announced on Monday, Mar. 4 that Junior Cameron Clause, Senior Captain Josh Owens, and Senior Allyson Voss will be representing Gustavus Adolphus College at this year’s NCAA National Championships. The meet will be held Mar. 8—Mar. 9, 2013 at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

It will be Owen’s second time competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships. Last year Owens finished the pole vault in ninth place with a height of 15 feet, 9.25 inches. This year, Owens is ranked seventh in the nation with a clearing of 16 feet, 1.25 inches.

Voss will be pole vaulting at this year’s national meet for the first time. Last weekend she cleared 12 feet 4.5 inches, breaking both the meet and school records.

Clause will also be competing for the first time at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He will compete in the heptathlon—a combination of seven track and field events—after posting a second place finish in the MIAC heptathlon, totaling 4,781 points from two days of competition. Clause also broke the school record and is ranked 11th in the nation.

Aside from Owens, Voss, and Clause, the remainder of the Gustavus track and field team has brought great competition to the conference.

“We are a fun group of athletes on campus, and we all have a passion for the sport of track and field. Whether you are a thrower, jumper, sprinter, hurdler, or distance runner, we all love working out together and competing together,” Senior Captain Lauren Rothschiller said.

The women have a strong distance running group, along with some mid-distance athletes that have been doing well.

“We have a strong distance group with some senior ladies as well. Elizabeth Hauer and Rebecca Hare have been running very well. Caitlin Fermoyle is coming off of an injury and is looking strong now. Haley Kemper is looking good in the 400, and we are hoping that our senior captain, Amanda Iverson, is going to run well after struggling with illness. Jenny Hendricks is running like we know she has always been able to and that’s encouraging,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said.

In the field events, Gustavus has some promising first-year throwers, as well as some talented vaulters and jumpers.

“We have Hayley Solheim that is a first-year thrower and is doing very well. She finished in the top three in each of the meets she has competed in. Another first-year thrower, Sarah Swanson, has been doing very well too. Nevada Wendlandt is looking decent in the high jump. She is also vaulting well. We do well in vaulting with Allyson, Nevada, Shelbie Walsh, and Kelsey Zimmer. Lauren Rothschiller should score in the triple jump and is showing steady improvement,” Bahr said.

The men have also been competing well with a great core sprinting group led by Senior Captain Blair Riegel, Edward Kluender, Phillip Butler, and Jeffrey Dubose.

“Eric Jorgenson has been strong in the 600 and 800. In the field events, Riegel has been doing well in the long jump and triple jump. Dubose also just recently picked up the high jump and has been doing well. In throws we have a good younger group. We have Ryan Obele, who is doing well and had a lifetime personal record in the shot put recently. Jesse Scheiterlein has been doing well for us, too,” Bahr said.

The transition from indoor track and field to the outdoor season is happening seamlessly. Events such as the hammer throw,  javelin throw, 3k steeple, and 10k will be added, which will help Gustavus in their scoring abilities.

“The transition from indoor to outdoor is always nice especially since the weather is getting warmer, which helps performance. It is also nice to get off the indoor track since it is brutal on our athletes’ legs,” Riegel said.

After a long and challenging indoor season, the team will continue to work hard during the transition, and will hopefully keep improving.

“We keep our teammates close and keep the encouragement coming.  A full track season can get long and be hard on the body, but in the end it’s your teammates and the love of the sport that gets you through it,” Owens said.

“The team is fun to be with and is very dedicated to what they are trying to do, and they all stay focused,” Bahr said.