Experienced And Newcomer Head To NCAA Meet

MOORHEAD (5/20/15)---Three NCAA National Meet veterans and one newcomer will represent Concordia at the Division III outdoor meet held at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. over the weekend. Hillary Birchem, Olivia Johnson and Cherae Reeves will all be making another trip to nationals while freshman Vanessa Johnson will be posting her first-ever appearance at the final meet of the year.

The four athletes will start their journey towards national glory on Thursday, May. 21 with the meet continuing through Saturday, May 23. Fans can watch the meet through live video and follow along with live results.

NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet Links

- NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet Home Page

- NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet Schedule of Events (pdf)

- NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet Live Video

- NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet Live Results

For each women's individual event contested, including the heptathlon, the top 22 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition.

Birchem is headed to her fourth NCAA National Outdoor Meet in the discus. The senior won the discus at the MIAC Meet with a distance of 157-02. That mark was over 20 feet farther than anyone else in the competition. Birchem's top distance of the season came at the St. Benedict Outdoor Invitational on Apr. 11 when she posted a mark of 157-05. That distance is the fifth best in the country this season.

Birchem's top finish at the national outdoor meet came in last year's meet when she finished 11th with a distance of 145-08.

Birchem will kick off the Cobber national meet experience when she competes in the prelims on Thursday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. There will be two flights of competitors in the discus with the top 9 making the finals and the top 8 earning All-American honors. Birchem will compete in the first flight of the prelim heats.    

Johnson is making her third trip to nationals. Last year she earned a spot in the national field in both the shot put and javelin. Johnson also qualified for nationals at the St. Benedict meet. She put up a distance of 45-01.5 which is currently the 13th farthest throw in the nation.

Johnson made the finals in the shot put at last year's national meet and finished ninth. In 2013 she placed 10th in the event.

Johnson will have to wait until the very end of this year's NCAA Meet to compete. The prelims in the discus are scheduled to start on Saturday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. Like the discus, there will be two flights of 11 with the top 9 making the finals. Johnson will be the ninth participant in the first flight of the event.

Reeves will have a target on her back heading to the national meet. She is the reigning champion in the shot put from this year's national indoor meet. Reeves is a five-time All-American in the event and has posted third-place finishes in the last two national outdoor meets and will be looking to add a second national championship to her trophy case.

Reeves also qualified for nationals at the St. Benedict Meet on Apr. 11. She came away with a season-best mark of 47-05.25 at the meet. Reeves, who won her second straight MIAC outdoor shot put competition two weeks ago, is currently ranked sixth in the nation.

Like Johnson, Reeves will have to wait for her time in the spotlight. She will follow right after Johnson in the first flight of prelims on Saturday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m.

Vanessa Johnson was the only member of the Cobber contingent who didn't post her national qualifying mark at St. Benedict. She punched her ticket to nationals a week later when she soared over 5-06.5 in the high jump at the Carleton Relays. Her height is currently tied for the No.15 spot on the national list.

Johnson placed second in the high jump at the MIAC Indoor Meet in March by clearing 5-05.25.

Johnson will have to wait until Saturday to make her NCAA debut. The national high jump completion is a one-flight affair which will begin at 11:30 a.m.