INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. ? Five Alaska Anchorage athletes have officially qualified for the upcoming 2008 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 22-24 at Walnut, Calif. The final entry list of NCAA participants was announced today here at the NCAA headquarters.
Qualifying for Nationals from the Seawolves are sophomore Kim Brady, junior Laura Carr, junior Elizabeth Chepkosgei, junior David Kiplagat and sophomore David Registe. Four of UAA's five qualifiers won individual GNAC titles at this year's league championship meet, and have combined to claim 10 career conference titles.
Kiplagat is making his third consecutive appearance at NCAAs, while Carr and Registe are competing at Nationals for the second straight season. Brady and Chepkosgei are making their national championship debuts.
The five Seawolf qualifiers equal a program-best for UAA, which also sent five athletes to Nationals in 2007.
The qualifications mark the seventh consecutive season UAA has sent athletes to the NCAA Championships and fourth straight it has qualified multiple athletes.
The 2008 GNAC champion in the women's long jump and triple jump, Brady (Odessa, Texas) enters the NCAA meet seeded 13th of 17 entries in the triple jump. The second Seawolf woman all-time to qualify for Nationals in a field event, Brady broke the GNAC record in the triple jump with a leap of 39-3 ? at this season's conference meet.
Carr (South Bend, Ind.), who successfully defended her league title in the women's 5000 meters this season, is one of two UAA athletes who will compete in two events at NCAAs. The GNAC-record holder in the 5000, Carr is seeded 6th of 17 qualifiers in the 10,000 (35:41.98) and 5th of 19 in the 5000 (16:56.48). She placed 15th in the 5000 at NCAAs in 2007.
Making her first appearance at NCAAs is Chepkosgei (Kapsabet, Kenya), who also qualified in two events (3000, 5000). The Kenyan, who won the women's 3000 title at the 2008 GNAC Championships, is seeded 5th of 16 qualifiers in the 3000 (9:59.16) and 11th of 19 in the 5000 (17:10.17). Chepkosgei holds UAA school records in the 1500 and 3000.
Qualifying for NCAAs for a UAA-record third time is Kiplagat (Kapsabet, Kenya), who is seeded 5th of 16 participants in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a UAA-record time of 9:07.20. A two-time GNAC champion, Kiplagat earned all-conference accolades in three events at the 2008 league meet (800, 5000, 3000 steeplechase). He finished 17th in the 5000 at Nationals in 2007 and 13th in the 5000 in 2006.
A two-time GNAC champion in the long jump, Registe (Palmer) qualified for NCAAs in that event for the second consecutive year. UAA's record holder in the long jump, Registe stands 3rd of 16 entres in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 24-10 ?. He placed 12th at Nationals last season. Registe collected three all-conference honors at the GNAC meet this season. He also owns UAA records in the 100 (10.69) and 200 (21.71). Registe also earned a league title in 2008 as a member of the Seawolves' winning 4x100 relay team.
The 2008 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships are being hosted by Cal Poly Pomona at the Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. A total of 620 athletes will compete at the national championship meet.
