Frostburg Track and Field NCAA Championships
The NCAA announced its field for the 2016 Indoor Track & Field National Championship and Frostburg State would send a pair of student-athletes to this year’s championships at Grinnell College (Mar. 11-12).
Senior J.R. Lowery competed in the shot put, while sophomore Kayla Truesdel performed in the 60-meter dash. The duo was the first Bobcat student-athletes to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships since the 2009 season.
Lowery finished in 11th place, throwing 53ft. on his final attempt, while sprinter Kayla Truesdel captured 17th place in the 60-meter dash preliminaries.
Following the Capital Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Lowery was named a First Team All-CAC honoree and the 2016 CAC Indoor Athlete of the Year after winning both the shot put (17.00 meters) and weight throw (16.55 meters) two weeks ago.
Like Lowery, Truesdel also garnered a pair of All-CAC awards following the indoor championships after winning the conference title in the 200-meter dash (25.73) and taking second in the 60-meter dash (7.74).
Truesdel ran just 0.01 off the winning time, and that mark is ranked 16th nationally.
“Both Kayla and J.R. have worked hard to improve their performances and it is nice to see them rewarded for that work,” said head coach Dale Luy.
Both Lowery and Truesdel were named U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) 2015-16 All-Region selections. Lowery was named all-region for both shot put and weight throw, while Truesdel gathered the honors for the 60 and 200-meter dashes.
“I am proud that we have now made 12 NCAA Championships appearance since I arrived at Frostburg,” added Luy. “These accomplishments have occurred because of the dedication of our track and field coaching staff and athletes through the years. I applaud all their efforts.”
Furthermore, there is other deserving recognition that the men’s track and field team deserves after registering 17 top-10 and 9 top-5 finishes at the 2016 outdoor season at the Juniata Invitational.
Sophomore Collin Schultz captured second in the high jump at 1.88 meters (6ft. 2in.), freshman Shamar Nelson was second in the long jump (6.35 meters/20ft. 10in.), and junior Patrick Broussoul took home second in the hammer throw at 41.44 meters (135ft. 11in.). Broussoul also added eighth in the discus at 34.74 meters (114ft.).
Rounding out the top-five finishes were sophomore Matt Deb, freshman Brad Forster and junior Keith Oelschlaeger.
Deb finished fourth in the hammer throw (39.04 meters/128ft. 1in.), Forster was fifth in the 400-meter hurdles (60.23), while Oelschlaeger took fifth in the hammer throw at 38.19 meters (125ft. 3in.).
Next Saturday, March 26, Frostburg will travel to the Jim Taylor Invitational at Susquehanna University at 9:00 am.
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