The 2018 outdoor season continues for 11 members of the University of Redlands track & field teams, as confirmed by the NCAA's announcement early Saturday morning. These stellar student-athletes travel to the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse for the 2018 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which take place May 24-26 at the Veteran's Memorial Field Sports Complex inside Roger Harring Stadium.
The top 20 men and the top 22 women declared into each event qualify for the national meet, while the top 16 declared relays, one per institution, also advance. For Redlands, five women, three men, and one men's relay will represent the Bulldogs in Wisconsin.
Sophomores Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) and Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA) each qualify for two events in their second national appearances. Fields currently ranks second in the 100 Hurdles with a time of 14.07, which came during her first-place showing at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships. She also qualifies in the 400 Hurdles with the 18th-fastest time of 1:02.06.
Kimble enters her second NCAA Outdoor Championships with solid qualifying marks in the Heptathlon and 100 Meters. She owns the 11th-best score in the Heptathlon with 4,487 points, which came at the Jim Click Shootout in early April. Her strengths among the seven-event multis include the hurdles, sprints, and jumps. In addition, Kimble looks forward to the 100-meter competition at the national meet. She owns a qualifying time of 12.10, which tied the school record and places her 17th among the best in Division III.
Senior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) returns to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the fourth time in her career. After clearing a height of 5' 6 ½" at the Redlands Final Qualifier earlier this week, she sits ninth in the nation in the High Jump.
Senior Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) heads to the national meet in the Shot Put for the second year in a row. This season, she reset her own school record with the second-best mark in Division III when she made a toss of 49' 8 ½" at the Redlands Final Qualifier.
Finally, senior Mandy Widen looks forward to competing in the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in her four-year career. She enters the national meet with the 18th-best height in the Pole Vault of 12' 4", which reset the school record during the SCIAC Multi-Dual No. 3.
While making back-to-back, national appearances, junior Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA) headlines the men's qualifiers as an individual competitor in two events and as a member of the Bulldogs' relay. Bohlinger owns the second-fastest entry mark for the 200 Meters (21.08) and ranks third in the 100 Meters (10.43), as both of his times resulted in first-place finishes at the SCIAC Championships.
Bohlinger also adds his talents to the Maroon and Gray's speedy 4x100 Relay that advances to nationals with a time of 41.20 to rank eighth. He joins forces with first-years Domanick Murray (Palm Springs, CA) and MJ Wheeler (St. Louis, MO), and sophomore Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) as a formidable foursome.
Senior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) makes his debut at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while qualifying in the Triple Jump. He earned the 20th spot on the entry list with a leap of 47' 9 ¾", which landed him atop the podium during the SCIAC Championships.
Finally, first-year Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) punched his ticket to nationals with a time of 1:51.44 in the 800 Meters during the Redlands Final Qualifier to solidify his spot at 15th in the nation.
For the second year in a row, Redlands sends 11 student-athletes to nationals, which ties for the second-most under Head Coach Mike Schmidt.
A complete list of the competing student-athletes is available at the NCAA's timing website. Results will also be posted here.
For more information about the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, please visit the host website.