Three Women Qualify for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its final official entry lists for all qualifiers for the 2024 Women's Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Friday morning.
Delaney Straus earned berths in two events, the heptathlon and 800-meter run, while Allison Morris and Faith Younce earned berths in the 5000-meter race walk field. Morris and Younce are the first race walkers to earn a national berth since Courtney Spann placed 14th in 2010.
National Qualifier
Delaney Straus | Sophomore | Philadelphia, Mo. | Marion County HS
Straus is a first-time qualifier for the Outdoor Championships and is entered in two events, the heptathlon and the 800-meter run. Straus is the first 800 qualifier and the first female heptathlon participant in school history. She won both events at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships this season, setting a school record with 4,654 points in the heptathlon. Straus also holds the school record in the 800, registering a time of 2:14.48 during the 114th Drake Relays in late April.
National Qualifier
Allison Morris | Grad. Student | Antioch, Ill. | Antioch HS | Iowa Wesleyan
Morris competed in her first Heart of America Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships May 3-4 and earned second team honors in the 5000 race walk with a time 29:09.01. Morris, who is ranked 12th in the NAIA, holds the school record with a time of 27:56.22 at the Cornell (Iowa) Invitational April 6.
Morris competed in her first Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Championship Feb. 16-17 and earned all-conference second team honors in the 3000-meter race walk in a time of 16:40.12, good for second place. Morris automatically qualified for the NAIA National meet by eclipsing the automatic qualifying standard of 16:45.00. Morris posted a time of 16:28.76 at the Fighting Bees Invitational on Jan. 26. That time is the 11th fastest time in the NAIA this season.
Morris has qualified five times for the NAIA National Championships, twice qualifying in both the race walk in the indoor and outdoor championships, and also earning a spot in the 2023-24 NAIA National Marathon in December.
National Qualifier
Faith Younce | Junior | Bonney Lake, Wash. | Bonney Lake HS | Iowa Wesleyan
Younce competed in her first Heart of America Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships May 3-4 and earned third team honors in the 5000 race walk with a time 29:20.02. Younce, who is ranked 13th in the NAIA, qualified for the outdoor championships by gong under the qualifying standard of 29:00.00 and posting a time of 28:16.70 at the Cornell (Iowa) Invitational April 6.
Younce competed in her first Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Championship Feb. 16-17 and earned all-conference third team honors in the 3000-meter race walk in a time of 17:16.28, good for third place.
This will be Younce's fifth appearance at an NAIA national event, twice qualifying in both the race walk in the indoor and outdoor championships, and also earning a spot in the 2023-24 NAIA National Marathon in December.
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Qualifiers by event CLICK HERE. Qualifiers by school CLICK HERE.
The NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University will occur at Wildcat Stadium in Marion, Ind., May 22-24.
Event Schedule CLICK HERE.