SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- After qualifying for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Mearah Miedema, Tyl Woelber, Mathias Kollberg, Patty Jo English, and Rebekah Rairdon are heading to Allendale, Michigan, this weekend to represent Augustana at the outdoor track & field national meet.

The Event

The championships will be held May Thursday through Saturday in Allendale, Michigan, at the GVSU Track & Field Stadium. Grand Valley State University and West Michigan Sports Commission will serve as co-hosts of the championships.

A live stream of the championships can be found on GoAugie.com/Live.

Woelber will kick off the championships starting at 7 a.m. on Thursday running the 100m portion of the decathlon. He will compete in the first five events of the decathlon finishing his Thursday competition at 11:45 a.m. running the 400m. 

Kollberg will be competing in the long jump at noon on Thursday.

Woelber returns Friday at 7 a.m. competing in the 110m-hurdles and will complete the multi events with the last event, the metric mile, being run at 12:25 p.m.

Rairdon will compete in the 3,000m steeplechase at 4:20 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, the third and final day of the outdoor championships, Miedema will compete in the high jump at 3:15 p.m. and rounding out the competition for the Vikings will be English in the 5,000m at 5:45 p.m.

The Athletes

Mearah Miedema - High Jump

Miedema, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, left the best for last jumping 5-9.75 at the NSIC Outdoor Championships to win the event and automatically qualify for the national meet. Her mark moved her to No. 2 on Augustana's all-time list. She is in a four-way tie for second in the nation entering the event.

Tyl Woelber - Decathlon

The Pipestone, Minnesota, native and the NSIC Field Athlete of the Year had his best decathlon performance to date at the NSIC Outdoor Championships. His efforts granted him an NCAA Auto Qualifying point total of 7,302 points, breaking both the conference and the school record in the process. He won half of the ten events in the decathlon with victories in the shot put, high jump, 400m dash, discus and the javelin throw. Woelber is currently ranked fifth in the nation in the decathlon.

Mathias Kollberg - Long Jump

Hailing from Drammen, Norway, Kollberg had a breakthrough mark in the long jump midway through the outdoor season breaking the school record with a jump of 25 feet. The mark was a personal-best by over two feet that places the true freshman ninth in the nation.

Patty Jo English - 5,000m

The Elko, Minnesota, native should feel right at home at the host site in Allendale, Michigan, as it is where she ran the school record in the 5,000m earlier this season running 16:20.53. Her time was a 17-second improvement on what was her most recent personal best. Her time puts her at 11th in the nation.

Rebekah Rairdon - 3,000m Steeplechase

Rairdon, a native of Fort Collins, Colorado, had a massive personal-best in the 3,000m steeplechase this season at the historic Drake Relays. The senior lowered her personal record to 10:31.77 to bring her to No. 3 on the all-time list and eighth in the nation.

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