INDIANAPOLIS – A pair of Southwest Minnesota State University athletes,
Will Hanson and
Alejandro Sanchez, have qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships set for March 13-14 the NCAA announced today.
Hanson and Sanchez are the first SMSU track & field athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships in program history. SMSU is in just its second season since reinstating the program in 2014.
SMSU's last national qualifiers were Wayne Hawkins and Walter Sutton, who both qualified in the 60-yard dash at the 1991 NAIA Championships.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. The University of Alabama-Huntsville and the Birmingham CrossPlex will serve as co-hosts for the championships.
Hanson, a native of Aurelia, Iowa, won the 60 meter hurdles last Friday at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships with a personal best time of 7.97, which ranks tied for the ninth fastest in Division II this season. He will be seeded 9th out of 16 runners in the event.
Sanchez, a native of Plano, Texas, won the 800 meters at the NSIC Championships with a conference record-setting time of 1:52.93. Sanchez's converted track time (track size) of 1:51.34, ranks 15
th in Division II this season. He will be seeded 13th out of 16 runners in the event.
The 60 meter hurdle prelims will take place on March 13 at 3:15 p.m., while the 800 meters prelims are set to begin at 5:50 p.m. The finals of the 60 meter hurdles will be on March 14 at 3:25 p.m., with the finals of the 800 meters at 5:10 p.m.
Hanson are Sanchez are the first SMSU athletes to win an indoor conference championship since Wayne Hawkins won both the 55-meters and 300-meters in 1992.
