St. Paul, MN -- Today, North Central University's Men's and Women's Track and Field teams participated in the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational Meet hosted by Macalester College. In women's throws, MiCayla Jones set a new program record in the hammer throw and Grace King set a new record in the javelin throw to qualify for the NCCAA National Meet. Garrett Converse and Jessica Redman both qualified for NCCAA Nationals in the 3000-meter steeplechase and the women's 4x400 meter relay qualified as well. In addition, the Rams set 22 new personal bests today. 
 
Sprints:
 
On the women's side, freshman Nevaeh Henderson led the team in the 100-meter dash with a new personal best time of 13.47 seconds. Kristen Ragasa set a new PR in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.16 seconds. In the 400-meter dash, 5 Rams set new personal bests, led by Savi Rael with a 1:03.30, and not far behind her was Deshawna Hodges with a time of 1:03.84. Also setting PRs in the event were Lydia Schroeder (1:05.03), Chloe Bjorlin (1:05.21), and Hope Naegelen (1:06.67). In the 400-meter hurdles, Ramiyah Words also set a new personal best with a time of 1:20.35. 
 
For the Men, Nehemiah Juaire ran the 100-meter race hitting a time of 11.84 seconds. Ja'Corey Jazzmere led the team in the 200-meter dash, setting a new PR with a time of 24.50, and also set a new PR in the 400-meter finishing at 54.08. Derek Burgin led the team in the 400-meter with a time of 52.73, finishing 10th overall at the meet. Michael Herr-Zielke ran the 400 Hurdles with a new personal best time of 1:05.46.
 
Distance:

For the women's team, freshman Avah Kraushaar ran the women's 800-meter in a time of 2:36.41 to set a new PR. Jessica Redman ran the 3000m steeplechase with a PR time of 13:17.96 to qualify for the NCCAA National Meet.
 
On the men's side, sophomore Garrett Converse recorded a new personal best in the 3000m steeplechase and a 2nd place finish with a time of 10:24.12 to qualify for this year's NCCAA Nationals. 
 
Throws:

MiCayla Jones was the top performer for the Rams women's team, breaking her program record in the hammer throw with a new PR mark of 38.09 meters, a new PR in the discus throw with a mark of 26.86m, and a throw of 8.55 meters in the shot put. Grace King excelled in the javelin throw, leading the team as she broke her program record with an NCCAA Nationals qualifying mark of 29.12m meters. She also led the Rams in discus with a throw of 29.23m. 
 
On the men's side, the Rams javelin throwers were very close to one another as Nehemiah Juaire met a mark of 35.83m, Caleb Lundt with 34.68m, and Benjamin VanWyk with 34.11m. 
 
Jumps:
 
Kristen Ragasa led the team in the high jump and long jump with marks of 1.35m and 4.15m, respectively. Not far behind her was Lydia Schroeder with a long jump finish of 4.14m. 

In the men's high jump, Nehemiah Juaire jumped 1.80m and Michael Herr-Zielke jumped 1.60m to finish 5th and 7th place overall at the meet. 

Relays:
 
In the women's 4x400 meter relay, Brycelyn Brewster, Deshawna Hodges, Serena Lanes, and Savi Rael qualified for the NCCAA Nationals with a time of 4:12.66, finishing 4th in the meet. In the women's 4x100 meter relay, Chloe Bjorlin, Nevaeh Henderson, Serena Lanes, and Deshawna Hodges finished 9th in a time of 54.0 seconds. 


Looking Ahead:

Both Track & Field Teams will compete at the UMAC Outdoor Conference Championships hosted by the University of Minnesota Morris. The meet will take place next Friday and Saturday. 
 
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages for updates on track and field and all things NCU Athletics.