23 Ducks to NCAA indoors

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced the 2014 Indoor Track and Field Championships qualifiers, Tuesday, and Oregon will be represented by a school-record total of 23 qualifying performances.

The Oregon women, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA rankings, qualified 12 performances (10 indiviudual, two relays) while the No. 4 Men of Oregon qualified 11 total performances (nine individual, two relays). The men’s total ranks third in the NCAA behind, Florida (13) and Arkansas (13). The women are tied for third with Arkansas, behind Florida (14) and Texas A&M (13).

Oregon and Arkansas are the only two schools in the country to have entries in all four relays at the national meet.

In addition to a school record for total qualifying performances, the men’s 11 representatives is a school best, beating last year’s record of nine.

Laura Roesler enters as the top-ranked Duck heading into the NCAA Championships, sitting at No. 1 in the 800. Jasmine Todd will be the only Oregon student-athlete from the women’s side competing in two individual events, coming in at No. 2 in both the 60 and the long jump.

Edward Cheserek is the top men’s qualifier, ranked second in the 3,000. He will double up in the 3,000 and 5,000 with teammate Parker Stinson.

Oregon’s depth will be apparent as it will be represented by multiple athletes in three events. The Ducks will have two competitors in both the women’s 60 (Todd, Jenna Prandini) and women’s high jump (Lauren Crockett, Chancey Summers). They will have three entries into the men’s 3,000 (Cheserek, Stinson, Dunbar).

The two-day NCAA Championships will take place in Albuquerque, N.M., March 14-15, and will be aired on ESPN3.

The women are looking to become indoor champions for the fifth-consecutive year, tying LSU (1993-97) for the longest run in women’s indoor history. The men’s team is coming off a sixth-place finish in 2013 and has one indoor title in its possession (2009).

A full list of the 2014 Oregon NCAA qualifiers is below, with their ranks among the declared field. For a list NCAA qualifiers from all schools, click here.

Women