Panthers Prepared For NCAA West Regional

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa track and field program is set to compete at the 2015 NCAA Division I Track and Field West Preliminary Round May 28-30 in Austin, Texas.

The Panthers will travel 12 student-athletes that will compete in 15 different events while in Austin. The top-48 in each individual event earns berths into the NCAA West Preliminary round with the top-12 times/marks from both the East and West prelims qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

UNI will send six men to the meet, including four-time NCAA West qualifier Sebastian Barth. Justin Baker joins Barth as one of the most experienced NCAA competitors on the team with three preliminary round appearances under his belt. Brandon Carnes qualified in both the 100 and 200 dashes for the second consecutive season while Shawn Koch, Weston Riesselman and Jon Rus will all make their NCAA debut this week.

For the women, Jamie Lindstrom, Alex Wilson and Libby Torresani will attend their second West Regional after competing in Arkansas last season. Sophomores Chaley Rath and Brette Correy are both making their first NCAA trips while Darian Samuelson will look to extend her senior season with her first appearance as well.

The meet will begin Thursday, May 28 and run through Saturday, May 30. UNI's first event will be tomorrow with the men's long jump at 1:30 p.m. For more information on the meet, fans can visit the Meet Central Page or follow live results here.

Panther NCAA West Qualifiers

Justin Baker, Sr., Sioux City, Iowa
Competition Times: Hammer Throw – Fri., May 29 2 p.m. | Shot Put – Fri., May 29, 6 p.m.
Broke the school record in the hammer throw at the MVC Outdoor Championships (206-10.00) to place fifth overall and score team points … earned All-Conference in the shot put at the MVC Championships, placing second overall with a personal-best throw of 61-2.25 … ranked second all-time in the outdoor shot put at UNI … ranked No. 17 in the NCAA West Region in the shot put and No. 22 in the hammer throw.

Sebastian Barth, Sr., Gauting, Germany
Competition Time: 110 Meter Hurdles – Fri., May 29 5:30 p.m. (First Round)
Ranked second all-time at UNI in the 110 meter hurdles with his personal-best time of 13.82 set during the 2014 season … set a season-best time of 13.92 at the Mt. Sac Relays, qualifying him for his fourth West Regional … broke the school record in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 7.72 and represented UNI at the NCAA Indoor Championships … ranked No. 21 in the NCAA West Region.

Brandon Carnes, So., Bradenton, Fla.
Competition Times: 100 Dash – Thurs. May 28 6:55 p.m. | 200 Dash – Fri., May 29 8:25 p.m. (First Round)
Set career-best times in both the 100 and 200 meter dash in 2015 … ranked second all-time at UNI in the 100 and 200 meters with times of 10.24 and 20.80 … won both the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the MVC Outdoor Championships for the second consecutive season, giving him eight MVC individual titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons … earned Men's Co-Most Valuable Athlete and Men's Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the outdoor championships … ranked fifth in the 200 meters and ninth in the 100 meters in the NCAA West Region.

Shawn Koch, So., Medinah, Ill.
Competition Times: Long Jump – Thurs., May 28 1:30 p.m. | Triple Jump – Sat., May 30 6 p.m.
Scored personal-bests in both the triple jump and the long jump in 2015 … jumped 25-0.00 at the MVC Outdoor Championships in the long jump to earn All-Conference and place second overall … also finished with a huge mark of 52-1.75 to place second in the triple jump at the MVC Championships to earn his second All-MVC recognition of the meet … ranked No. 41 in the long jump and No. 44 in the triple jump in the NCAA West Region.

Weston Riesselman, Jr., Boone, Iowa
Competition Time: Long Jump – Thurs., May 28 1:30 p.m.
Scored team points for the Panthers in the long jump at the MVC Outdoor Championships with a fourth place finish and a mark of 24-8.25 … ranked fifth all-time at UNI in the outdoor long jump and fourth in the indoor long jump … ranked No. 27 in the NCAA West Region in the long jump … earned MVC Scholar-Athlete team for the second consecutive season.

Jon Rus, So., Eldridge, Iowa
Competition Time: 110 Meter Hurdles – Fri., May 29 5:30 p.m. (First Round)
Earned his first All-conference honors after finishing second overall in the 110 hurdles at the MVC Outdoor Championships with a time of 14.02 … qualified for the final West Regional with his wind legal personal-best time of 14.19 at the Wisconsin Open … ranked No. 37 in the 110 meter hurdles in the NCAA West Region.

Brette Correy, So., Epworth, Iowa
Competition Time: 800 Meters – Thurs., May 28 8:10 p.m. (First Round)
Ranked fourth all-time at UNI in the outdoor 800 meters with her career-best time of 2:09.42 at the Musco Twilight … scored team points at the MVC Outdoor Championships after placing fifth overall in the 800 meter run … won the indoor MVC title in the 800 meters … awarded the Elite 18 Award during the indoor championships … named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team.

Jamie Lindstrom, Jr., Hudson, Wis.
Competition Time: Shot Put – Sat., May 30 6 p.m.
Ranked in the top-five all-time at UNI in the shot put, discus and hammer throw after a standout 2015 season … threw a huge personal-best in the shot put at the Wisconsin Open of 50-6.25 to rank her third all-time … scored team points in three events at the MVC Outdoor Championships, including fourth place finishes in the hammer and discus throws … currently No. 38 in the shot put in the NCAA West Region … selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team for the third consecutive season.

Chaley Rath, So., Treynor, Iowa
Competition Time: High Jump – Fri., May 29 6 p.m.
Set the school record in the high jump at the MVC Outdoor Championships, jumping a height of 5-10.50 in the women's heptathlon … scored team points in both the open high jump and the heptathlon at the outdoor championships, placing fourth in both … won the open high jump competition at both the Wisconsin Open and the Gibson Invitational … ranked No. 17 in the NCAA West Region in the high jump.

Darian Samuelson, Sr., Spearfish, S.D.
Competition Time: 400 Meter Dash – Thurs., May 28 7:20 p.m.
Had a standout senior campaign in the sprints, ranking herself fourth all-time at UNI in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 54.65 to qualify her for the West Regional … earned All-Conference in both the indoor and outdoor 400 meters this season, placing third overall in both races … has been a part of six 4X400 meter relay teams that have earned All-Conference between the indoor and outdoor seasons after UNI's third place finish at the 2015 outdoor championships.

Libby Torresani, Sr., Middleton, Wis.
Competition Time: Pole Vault – Fri., May 29 1 p.m.
The current school record holder in the indoor and outdoor pole vault … broke the outdoor record with a personal-best mark of 13-3.75 at the Musco Twilight … scored team points at the MVC Outdoor Championships, placing fourth overall … is a four-time All-Conference honoree in the pole vault between the indoor and outdoor seasons, including her MVC win in the event at the 2014 outdoor championships … ranked No. 35 in the NCAA West Region … selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team.

Alex Wilson, Sr., Lisbon, Iowa
Competition Time: 1,500 Meter Run – Thurs., May 28 5:30 p.m. (First Round)
Second consecutive year qualifying for the 1,500 meters at the NCAA West Regional … became just the fifth MVC athlete to win both the 800 and 1,500 meter runs at the 2015 MVC Outdoor Championships … broke her own school record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:20.49 at the Drake Relays … is also ranked second all-time at UNI in the 800 meters … won the indoor mile MVC title in 2015 and holds the school record in the event with a time of 4:44.32 … ranked No. 29 in the 1,500 meters in the NCAA West Region … selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team.

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