Track & Field Sends Six to NCAA West Preliminaries

Thursday, May 23

Sacramento, Calif.

All Day

DePaul University

NCAA West Preliminary

Track & Field Sends Six to NCAA West Preliminaries

5/22/2019 10:59:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD

Live Results Meet Information Watch

Three in the field and three on the track will represent DePaul on national stage

CHICAGO – Six track & field student-athletes will represent DePaul this weekend at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Preliminary Championships. Alexia Brooks, Jade Gates, Henry Larkin, Caroline Muller, Jade Nolan and Kiersten Walker qualified for the west preliminary in Sacramento, Calif. after a record-setting season. Those placing in the top 12 in their respective event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

Muller will kick off the action for the Blue Demons on Thursday afternoon in the women's high jump. The senior ended her capstone season with a third-place finish at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships with an impressive 1.70-meter finish. The Hoffman Estates native qualified with a school-record 1.74-meter mark that she set at the Huskie Classic earlier this month. Muller beat her own program record 1.72 meters that she set at the first meet of the outdoor season.

Gates will be joining in the field competition as she competes in the women's hammer throw. Setting her PR at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational in April, the sophomore threw a dominating 61.85-meter mark to qualify for the event. The St. Louis native is no stranger to the national stage as she competed at the West Preliminaries last season in the javelin. Gates currently holds the program records in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 56.95 meters.

Continuing competition on Thursday for DePaul is Walker in the women's 400-meter dash. The sophomore set the program record 53.88 time at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships two weekends ago. The Milwaukee native was named to the All-BIG EAST team for her finishes in the 200-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, as well as in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay events at the conference meet in NYC.

Larkin will round out the first day of competition for the Blue Demons in the men's 400-meter dash. The freshman standout finished first in the 400-meter dash at the league's outdoor competition with a 47.64 finish. His exhilarating performance in the 4x400-meter relay helped his squad take gold in the event. The Oakland, Calif. native tied the program record 46.46 in the 400-meter dash that was set by head coach Dave Dopek during his tenure as a student-athlete. Larkin has earned gold in all six of his races in a Blue Demon uniform.

Opening competition for the Blue Demons on Friday is Brooks in the 100-meter hurdles. The senior returns to the national stage after earning gold among conference competitors at Icahn Stadium. The senior holds the program record in the event with a 13.46 finish at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational last season. She flirted with that record this season at the Pepsi Florida Relays, clocking in a time of 13.48. The Evanston native qualified for the quarterfinals in the NCAA competition last year after finishing 20^th in the first rounds.

Earning both the titles of Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer and the Women's High Point Performer at the conference meet, Nolan is set to round out the preliminary competitions on Saturday in the women's triple jump. At the league meet in NYC, the Milwaukee native had a dominating 12.38-meter finish to beat her own school record and qualify for the highly-competitive national meet. Her performance in the long jump at the BIG EAST meet brought home the title for DePaul for the first time since 2015.

To reach the NCAA preliminary rounds, competitors must finish within the top 48 on the national qualifying list in their respective events. Sacramento State is the host institution and the meet will take place at Hornet Stadium starting Thursday and running through Saturday. A finish in the top 12 in the national preliminary rounds would punch the ticket to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas which will be held in two weeks.