MVC-Sports.com
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 | Track & Field
2007 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship Selections Announced; Valley Goes 20-Deep

The 86th-annual NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship will take place June 6-9 (Wed.-Sat.), in Sacramento, Calif., at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex, co-hosted by Sacramento State University and the Sacramento Sports Commission.  Twenty Valley athletes, including a relay team, will compete for national championships and All-American status in 20 events throughout the championship.

UNI leads the way for the Valley with 11 total entries, nine from the league-champion men's squad and two from the women's team.  Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Wichita State will each send a pair of athletes to Sacramento while Drake, Illinois State and Missouri State will be represented by a single athlete.

Of note, UNI's Raven Cepeda enters the championship with the nation's second-best decathlon point total of the season at 7,838 while Southern Illinois' Brittany Riley holds the country's second-rated hammer throw at 72.51m and UNI's Rachel Jansen hold the fourth-best shot put mark at 17.29m.

Later this week, the Valley will preview the NCAA Championship and recap the 2007 track & field season.

Fans can view the full list of declared athletes by following the links at the top of the page.

Missouri Valley Conference Qualifiers

Name, School Event (s) Qualification Name, School Event (s) Qualification
Raven Cepeda, UNI Decathlon automatic Chandra Andrews, Wichita St. hammer automatic
Derek Johnson, Drake 110 hurdles automatic Leander Ernest, Missouri St. 800m   at-large
Paladin Jordan, Indiana St. 400 hurdles automatic Kylie Hutson, Indiana St. pole vault automatic
Jarono Kivioja, UNI pole vault automatic Rachel Jansen, UNI shot put, hammer auto/at-large
Ehi Oamen, UNI high jump at-large Kellyn Johnson, Wichita St. 5,000m at-large
Terrance Reid, UNI 400m automatic Brittany Riley, Southern Ill. hammer, discus auto/auto
Brenton Siemons, Southern Ill. shot put automatic Dani Stipe heptathlon at-large
Kyle Smith, UNI 800m automatic
Alex Straughn, Illinois St. high jump automatic
Dorian Ulrey, UNI 1,500m automatic
UNI (Goos, Grenko, Mulder, Reid) 4x400 Relay at-large