INDIANAPOLIS-- Trine's Kara Eck has earned her second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships, the NCAA announced today as part of its national entries release.
Eck (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) will compete in the weight throw at the national meet for the second year in a row after earning All-America honors in the event last winter. She placed sixth in the nation in the event last year. The sophomore also earned her first nationals bid in the shot put. For each woman's individual event contested, the top 17 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. The championships will be held March 11-12 at the Charles Benson Bear '39 Recreation and Athletic Center in Grinnell, Iowa, with Grinnell College serving as the official host.
"This is a huge step forward for our track and field program as this marks the third-consecutive year that we have sent a student-athlete from both the men's and women's teams to represent our university at the Division III indoor national championship," said Rod Waters, head coach of Trine's track and field teams. "Furthermore, coach Amanda Cope has done a significant job in developing our throwers. Under her tutelage, the student-athletes continue to develop into national championship-caliber throwers."
Eck enters the weight throw seeded 11th in the nation. Her top throw of 57 feet, 3 inches came in the University of Indianapolis Winter Break Meet back in December. Her performance in the weight throw and shot put at that meet earned Eck National Athlete of the Week honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Eck set a school-record in the shot put this season with a throw of 44 feet, 2.75 inches in the Indiana Wesleyan Invitational. That performance gives Eck the 16 seed entering the national championship meet. The top performances of all 17 national qualifiers falls within four and a half feet of each other.
The top eight performers in each event at the national meet will earn All-America honors. Eck could become Trine's first-ever All-American in multiple events in the same year.
The weight throw national championship will take place Friday at 4:30 p.m. The finals of the shot put will be held Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m.
For more information regarding the Division III men's and women's indoor track and field championships, log on to http://www.ncaa.com.
