INDIANAPOLIS – NCAA Track and Field Preliminary Round declarations were announced Thursday afternoon, with Indiana State track and field set to send 15 student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Round May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
To qualify, athletes must be among the top 48 in an individual event, or in the top 24 as a relay team. The top 12 finishers in each event at the East Preliminary Round will advance to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships. Indiana State has one relay team that qualified, along with 12 entries in individual events.
 
Among the Sycamore contingent selected to the NCAA East Preliminary Round, nine athletes have prior NCAA Preliminary Round experience, with Kevin Krutsch, Noah Malone, JaVaughn Moore, Brett Norton, Ryann Porter, Wyatt Puff, William Staggs, Trevor Thompson and Selene Weaver all reaching regionals for at least the second time in their careers.
 
Indiana State's highest-ranked entry entering the NCAA East Preliminary Round is the men's 4x100m relay team that clocked a season-best time of 39.77 at the Drake Relays. JaVaughn Moore, Daunte Majors, Isiah Thomas and Noah Malone make up the four legs of that team, with Terrance O'Bannon serving as the alternate. All five of those athletes rank among the MVC's top 10 in the 100m. Moore also qualified in the 100m, with his season-best time of 10.22 tied for 31st, and looks to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships after earning Second Team All-America honors in the 60m at the 2023 NCAA Indoor National Championships.
 
Among the field events, high jumpers Kevin Krutsch and Trevor Thompson have the top seed marks for the Sycamores, with their season-best clearances of 2.12m (6-11.50) at the MVC Outdoor Championships tied for 19th in the region. Krutsch and Thompson will be joined in the event by Lawrence Mitchell, who recently came back from injury to clear 2.09m (6-10.25) as part of a podium sweep for the Sycamores at the MVC Outdoor Championships.
 
The Sycamore men's throws group has had an unprecedented season and will have a chance to make noise on the national stage once again, with four qualifying for the NCAA East Prelim. Wyatt Puff and Noah Bolt qualified in two events each, with Puff's discus mark of 56.53m (185-05) ranked 20th. Puff also ranks 27th in the shot put (18.33m/60-01.75), while Bolt qualified in both the discus (54.50m/178-10) and hammer throw (60.73m/199-03). Brett Norton tied the school record in the shot put (18.40m/60-04.50) at the MVC Outdoor Championships, and Elias Foor rounds out the Sycamore throws group in the hammer (60.55m/198-08).
 
William Staggs has had a season to remember in the pole vault, climbing up to second in program history in the event outdoors (5.29m/17-04.25) after breaking the school record in the event indoors (5.41m/17-09.00). Staggs had a stretch of six straight weeks where he broke his personal record, and will have a chance to do so once more as he is seeded 23rd in the event.
 
Indiana State has just two women's entries, but both are familiar with success on the big stage. Ryann Porter has qualified for each of the last two NCAA Outdoor National Championships and will have a chance to do so once again this year. The two-time Honorable Mention All-American is tied for 28th in the triple jump at 12.85m (42-02.00) and has had her best jumps of the season come at the conference and NCAA meets every season. Selene Weaver was a late addition to the field in the pole vault, but has had a penchant for delivering in big moments, with a pair of conference titles and five all-conference honors to her name. Weaver's top mark this season is 4.02m (13-02.25).
 
Heat sheets for each event will be made available prior to the start of the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
 
The 2023 NCAA East Preliminary Round is slated for May 24-27 at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, with the 2023 NCAA Outdoor National Championships scheduled for June 7-10 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The top 12 in each event at the NCAA East Preliminary Round will advance to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships
 
Indiana State 2023 NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifiers

• JaVaughn Moore, Daunte Majors, Isiah Thomas, Noah Malone (Terrance O'Bannon – alternate) – 4x100m relay (16th, 39.77)
• Kevin Krutsch – high jump (tied-19th, 2.12m/6-11.50)
• Trevor Thompson – high jump (tied-19th, 2.12m/6-11.50)
• Wyatt Puff – discus (20th, 56.53m/185-05), shot put (27th, 18.33m/60-01.75)
• William Staggs – pole vault (23rd, 5.29m/17-04.25)
• Brett Norton – shot put (24th, 18.40m/60-04.50)
• Ryann Porter – triple jump (tied-28th, 12.85m/42-02.00)
• JaVaughn Moore – 100m (tied-31st, 10.22)
• Lawrence Mitchell – high jump (33rd, 2.09m/6-10.25)
• Noah Bolt – discus (40th, 54.50m/178-10), hammer throw (47th, 60.73m/199-03)
• Selene Weaver – pole vault (48th, 4.02m/13-02.25)
• Elias Foor – hammer throw (48th, 60.55m/198-08)

 
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UPDATE
This story has been updated to reflect Selene Weaver's inclusion in the NCAA East Preliminary Round field. Weaver was announced as a regional qualifier in the shot put Saturday morning, after the original preliminary round field was unveiled.