Program Gears Up For 2008 Outdoor National Championships
Senior Rachel Hepkins utilized every second of the '08 season, qualifying for national competition in the 400-meter run at the last meet.

Oshkosh, WI — The Messiah College track and field program will be well-represented at this weekend’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, taking seven athletes to compete in a total 11 events at the three-day event hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

That’s the most athletes head coach Dale Fogelsanger has brought to the NCAA’s biggest stage in 14 years at the helm of the Falcons’ program, while the leader can only hope to adequately cap an indoor season that finished with four All-American honors.

“We’re excited,” Fogelsanger said Tuesday before catching a flight to Wisconsin. “This is a great experience for all of our athletes, and I think we’ve got our sights set pretty high. We’ve got quite a few individuals with national (championship) experience, so that should be beneficial.”

Leading that list is senior Amy Reed, last year’s national runner-up in the heptathlon and fourth-place finisher in the javelin. A three-time outdoor All-American, Reed enters this year’s heptathlon as the top seed (she scored a season-best 4,689 points in finishing third in the Penn Relays), while her 146 feet, 4 inch effort at the MAC Championships gave her the third-best javelin toss in the nation.

Reed also qualified for — and will participate for the first time at the national level — the triple jump competition, as her 38 feet, 2 and ½ inch mark was the 13th-best leap nationally this year, pitting her just an inch below sophomore Kristen Bates (38 feet, 3 and ¼ inches). Bates, who garnered a pair of All-American honors in this season’s indoor national championships, looks to nab her first outdoor award this weekend. Bates will compete in the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles in addition to the triple jump. She enters as the eighth seed in the former (:14.38) and the 15th in the latter (:63.03).

Bates finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the 55-meter hurdles at this year’s indoor national championships. She competed in the 400-meter hurdles competition at last year’s outdoor national championships as well, failing to qualify for the finals from one of three heats.

“Amy and Kristen both understand what to expect at this level, and I think that will help us,” Fogelsanger said.

Senior Rachel Hepkins (400-meters) and junior Jenny Kooser (10,000-meters) round off Messiah’s female competitors, as Kooser’s 36:30.22 clip at the Penn Relays secured her spot in the long-distance filed. Hepkins arrives at her first national championship meet via a different route, qualifying for the 400-meter race at last Friday’s Eastern Mennonite University Last Chance Meet. The only Messiah athlete to participate in that event, Hepkins ran a personal-best :57.00, earning the 13th seed in the national field.

“That was a pretty cool thing,” Fogelsanger said. “You take one athlete to a meet and come away with a national qualifier. I couldn’t be happier for Rachel.”

On the men’s slate, senior Nick Kipe should provide leadership, as last year’s third-place finisher in the triple jump enters this season’s championships as a seasoned vet. Kipe’s 48 feet, 8 and ¼ inch leap at the Widener University Invitational was the second-best result of the season nationally, while Kipe also finished as an All-American in the event at this year’s indoor national championships (he finished seventh).

Junior Patrick Roach returns for his second nationals appearance in the 400-meter race, seeded fourth with a time of :47.70.

Senior Michael Dell will compete in the decathlon, earning the 11th seed following a 6,437-point performance at this year’s Penn Relays, a tally earning him a third-place result.

Messiah had 10 individuals make this year’s nationals list, though three performances narrowly missed the final cut for competition. The Falcons’ women’s 4 X 400 team of Reed, Bates, Hepkins and Grace Kaste finished with the 18th-best time in the nation, but the national championship field was set at 16. The same could be said for senior Sadie Sumner in the javelin (19th-best result, field set at 17 competitors) and sophomore Ted Simmons in the triple jump.

Messiah’s 10 outdoor national championship qualifiers was the most in program history.

Events are slated to begin on the campus of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at noon Thursday, as the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon open the action. Events continue through Saturday evening. Event schedules, qualifiers and results can be found at the national championships website. Up-to-the-minute results can also be found at www.raceberryjam.com.