| BROOKINGS, S.D. – All-American honors and national titles are on the line this weekend when LC State Track and Field heads to South Dakota for the 2024 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships. The Warriors will have a program-best 20 athletes competing across the three days.
Last season the Warriors returned from indoor nationals with four All-American accolades and a National Champion.LC State followed up with eight All-American honors, including a relay, at outdoor to cap the most successful season in program history.
“We really emphasize just being competitive,” Head Coach Mike Collins said. “Last year is a pretty high standard to try and achieve again, but we believe we can and if we can concentrate on just staying in the moment and controlling what we can control, then the results will take care of themselves. But I am well aware that if things go well, this could be a pretty special trip. Lots of moving parts, but right now looking good.”
This season marks the first time the Warriors will have four relays at the event, and the first time an 60m sprinter has qualified from LC State. Three individuals will compete at indoor nationals for the first time in their careers while three returners earned All-American honors last season. The group includes reigning high jump champion Jennah Carpenter.
“Typically, returners have an advantage,” Collins said. “Often it is to improve upon what they have done before and/or they have something to prove if things did not go well in the past. Both can be advantageous along with the comfort level and familiarity of having been there before in addition to hopefully actually being better with a year of experience and training added. But on the other hand, never having been there before can be helpful in that you are somewhat ignorant of what is happening and the magnitude of the event. As long as you can keep from being overwhelmed, you may have a little more of a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality. Neat surprises can happen in those cases.”
Making what LC State has been able to accomplish even more impressive, the Warriors have done all of this without a true home facility. LC State shares Vollmer Bowl with Lewiston High School and has also used Clarkston High School’s facility when a water main burst at Vollmer Bowl. The Warriors do not train indoors, even during indoor season.
“I think it speaks a lot to the mentality and general type of program we run. Very blue collar,” Collins explained. “We work to outwork everyone else. We may not have the nice track, shiny bus, new uniforms, newest equipment or go to the biggest meets, but we tend to have a bit of a chip on our shoulder, an underdog mentality. Nobody may believe in us but we believe in ourselves and we have something to prove. I think we have a few dark horses ready to compete this weekend that will hopefully surprise a few people.
“I still remember our first national trophy in cross country and hearing the comment from a surprised coach when then they saw the results, ‘Who is Lewis-Clark State?’ Collins recalled. “Well, I will let my team show you.”
DAY ONE
An All-American in the event last season, Carpenter opens the meet in the pentathlon on Thursday. The junior placed eighth (3,296) in the five-event multi last season and it the eighth seed heading into this year’s competition.
All four relays will run their prelim races on Thursday, starting with the 12th-seeded women’s 4x800m squad. The team of Geraldin Correa, Brooklyn Shell, Aubree Williams and Grace Tiegs have a seed time of 9:26.53. The men’s 4x800m relay team of Cooper Carlson, Carter Gordon, Griffen Parsells and Conner May, also seeded 12th, has a time of 7:47.11.
The women’s 4x400m relay team of Emily Collins, Anika Grogan, Madigan Kelly and Sara Hathaway are seeded 18th (3:57.99). The men’s squad made up of Preston Cooper, Ike Hopper, London Kirk and Trenton Johnson earned the No. 14 seed (3:17.45).
DAY TWO
Kelly will be the first Warrior in action on Friday in the 60m hurdle prelims. The Lewiston native sets the school record nearly every time she runs and enters the weekend ranked fifth in the event (8.49). The final of the event will take place on Saturday.
Orofino’s Sydnie Zywina and Lewiston’s Carpenter will both be in action in the long jump to start field events for the Warriors. Zywina is ranked ninth in the NAIA (5.65m) and Carpenter is 12th (5.61m).
Kirk will run his 400m prelim as the No. 13 seed (48.30) and Collins will race the 600m prelims ranked 10th (1:35.71). Jedidiah Barnaby will make history as the first LC State sprinter to run the 60m dash prelims at nationals. The sophomore is seeded 29th (6.84).
Correa is the top seed in the NAIA in the 800m with her time of 2:12.84. An All-American in the event last year, the senior will run her preliminary race on Friday. Gordon, an All-American in the 600m last year, will run in the men’s 800m prelims as the No. 4 seed (1:52.72). Parsells will run his first individual national events as the No. 17 seed (1:54.85).
Should the 4x800m relay teams advance past the prelims, the event finals will take place on Friday afternoon.
DAY THREE
The final day of the national meet kicks off with Zywina in the triple jump. The junior ranks seventh in the event with a mark of 12.03m.
Carpenter will look to defend her title in the high jump as the No. 3 seed (1.73m). She cleared her career-best in the indoor event in the final meet of the season to match the mark she cleared at nationals last year and has been consistently jumping higher at each meet.
Johnson will compete in his first indoor nationals as an individual on Saturday in the triple jump. He is seeded 14th with a mark of 14.56m.
Event finals all running events, aside from the 4x800m relays, will take place on Saturday.
THE DETAILS
A full schedule of events the Warriors are in will be posted on the LC State Facebook page each day. The NAIA will stream the meet and have live results. All links will be on social media and lcwarriors.com.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors. |
