Led by seven qualifiers from MVC men’s and women’s champion UNI, the Missouri Valley Conference will be represented by 13 athletes in this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship in Fayetteville, Ark., hosted by the University of Arkansas.  The NCAA released the list of qualifiers today (Mar. 10).

On the men’s side, The Valley is well represented in the men’s heptathlon, boasting a quarter of the field thanks to outstanding efforts at the MVC Championship Meet.

UNI’s Raven Cepeda is the nation’s top qualifier in the event with a 5,906-point performance to his credit.  Mat Clark of UNI qualified ninth (5,608), Krzysztof Slupkowski of Wichita State (5,539) and Chris Dickman of Wichita State (5,511) each qualified with scores posted at the MVC Championship.

Other men’s qualifiers include UNI’s Tyler Mulder in the men’s 800m with the sixth-best time of 1:48.17 and a pair of Panthers in the high jump.  Julian Morris and Ehi Oamen are the sixth and 11^th qualifiers, respectively, after clearing season-best heights at the MVC Championship.

The women’s entrants are headlined by defending NCAA champion Brittany Riley in the weight throw.  Riley has the nation’s top throw by 2.70m and holds all of the top-10 throws in the NCAA this year, in addition to boasting seven of the top-10 throws among Americans this season.

Riley in joined in the championship by UNI’s Rachel Jansen in the shot put, Olimpia Nowak of UNI in the pentathlon, Bianca Stuart of Southern Illinois in the long jump and Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson in the pole vault and Erica Moore in the 800m.

Moore’s qualification was particularly interesting as she was a late addition to the Alex Wilson Invitational last chance meet over the weekend and, running on borrowed uniform, posted her qualifying mark.

The NCAA Championships will begin on March 14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.