NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship Website

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The 2009 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet is scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon, and when it does, 11 student athletes from Bethel University will there to represent the school in several different events. It will be the first time in school history that such a large number will attend the national meet, hosted by Marietta College in Ohio.

The men's team alone will have eight student athletes on hand. They include:

- Taylor Ferda (Jr., Whitefish, Mont.) in both the 110 meter hurdles and as a member of the 4 x 400 meter relay team. Ferda broke his own school record in the hurdles with a time of 14.48 seconds, which was the fifth best time in the nation this season.

- Eric Rhode (Jr., Oakdale, Minn.) qualified for the national meet in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.38 seconds, but he will focus his attention on the 4 x 400 meter relay. Joel Quick (Jr., Johnston, Iowa), and Zach Schlegel (So., Woodbury, Minn.) help round out the 1600 meter relay team, which is ranked 7th nationally heading into this weekend. Mark Stockhowe (So., Burnsville, Minn.) will accompany the team as an alternate.

- Tyler Hinrichs (Sr., Clara City, Minn.) qualified for his first outdoor national meet  in the 1500 meter run. He broke a 33-year old school record earlier this season, then smashed his own record last week at the Last Chance Qualifier, hosted by UW-La Crosse, with a time of 3:50.15.

- Carl Gladitsch (Sr., Bloomer, Wis.) will also be making his first appearance at the outdoor national meet. The 2007 cross country NCAA All-American is ranked 15th in the nation in the 3000 meter steeplechase. He qualified with a school record setting time of 9:14.09.

- Jay Quick (So., Johnston, Iowa) will be making his second trip to the national meet in as many years. The two-time conference champion high jumper is tied for 10th nationally with a leap of 2.05 meters (6 feet, 8.75 inches).

On the women's side, Marie Borner (Sr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) will also be making her second appearance at the national meet in the 1500 meter run. Borner posted the third best time in the nation this season in the event with a time of 4:27.74. She will be joined by Heather Jelen (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.), who posted the eighth best time nationally at 4:32.04. It will be Jelen's first trip to the outdoor national meet, but her third trip to a national meet in her senior year alone. Jelen previously competed in the 2008 cross country championships as well as the 2009 indoor track and field championships. Finally, Vanessa Moore (Sr., Grantsburg, Wis.) is on her way back to the national meet in the high jump after earning NCAA All-American status at the outdoor championships in 2007. Moore did likewise in the indoor competition in 2007 as well as earlier this year. Her leap of 1.67 meters (5 feet, 5.75 inches) ties her for the sixth best mark in the nation this season.

The first event of the national meet is scheduled to begin at noon on Thursday.