INDIANAPOLIS - Four Indiana State Track & Field student-athletes have qualified for the 2019 NCAA East Region Preliminary Round Championships, which will be held this year at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 23-25.
 
To qualify for this first-round of the NCAA Championships, student-athletes must have finished the season ranked within the top-48 of their individual events or as a member of a top-24 relay team on their respective regional qualifying list (East or West), which was released by the NCAA on Thursday. The top-12 athletes in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon in the East and West automatically receive entry to the national meet.
 
From there, the top-12 finalists in each event at each regional meet advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Texas on June 5-8.
 
After scratches were applied Thursday morning, Indiana State ended up with four total entries into the East Prelim meet: two men and two women.
 
On the men's side, Akis Medrano enters the field ranked 46th in the East in the men's 10,000-meter run. This will be the third appearance in the regional for Medrano, who finished 44th in the 10K in 2017 and 21st during prelims in the 1500-meter run in 2018. He will be looking to take the next step to nationals this year, entering with a personal-best and fourth-fastest time in ISU history of 29:46.48 from the Drake Relays. Medrano also had a strong year in conference, earning All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in both the 5K and 10K.
 
Senior pole vaulter Riley Smith will be making his first appearance in the NCAA East Regional competition. Smith sits at 40th in the region with a vault of 5.07m (16-07.50) from the MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend. At the MVC Championships, Smith captured his first-ever Valley title, upsetting three Illinois State athletes in the pole vault to earn the championship with his mark of 5.07m.
 
The women are also sending two athletes to Jacksonville for the East Prelim, including Cassandra Roper and Erin Reese. Roper owns the fourth-best toss in school history in the shot put of 16.44m (53-11.25), which is the 16th-best mark in the East heading into the prelim round. Roper is coming off an All-MVC performance at the conference championships where she placed third in the shot put. This will be her third time competing in the preliminary round, as she placed 42nd in the shot put in 2016 and 15th in 2018, just three spots short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
 
A star in the throws, Erin Reese has qualified to compete in the East Prelim round in the discus throw, hammer throw and shot put. Last season in the hammer throw, Reese placed 14th and fell just short of qualifying for nationals, but this season she has her sights set on the championships as she enters with a school record and ninth-best regional toss of 65.31m (214-03). That mark came at the MVC Championships where she earned her second consecutive title in the event en route to being named the MVC Most Outstanding Female Field Athlete.
 
She also enters the regional ranked sixth in the discus throw with her toss of 56.45m (185-02) from the Jesse Owens Track Classic in April. She will travel to Jacksonville fresh off of a conference title in the discus as well, where she claimed victory over the field with a toss of 53.85m (176-08). In addition to the discus throw, Reese also holds the 45th-best mark in the region in the shot put at 15.29m (50-02.00) from the Crimson Tide Invitational. She placed sixth in the Valley in the shot put last weekend.
 
Reese will get the action started for the Sycamores in Jacksonville, as she will compete in the women's hammer throw on Thursday, May 23 at 4 p.m. ET.
 
Men's Qualifiers:
40. Riley Smith - Pole Vault - 5.07m (16-07.50)
46. Akis Medrano - 10K - 29:46.48
 
Women's Qualifiers:
6. Erin Reese - Discus Throw - 56.45m (185-02)
9. Erin Reese - Hammer Throw - 65.31m (214-03)
16. Cassaundra Roper - Shot Put - 16.44m (53-11.25)
45. Erin Reese - Shot Put - 15.29m (50-02.00)
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.