Wheeler Advances To NCAA Championships

Thursday, May 27

Jacksonville, Fla.

1:30 p.m.

Central Michigan University

NCAA East Preliminary Championships

5/27/2021 9:08:00 PM | Track & Field

Chippewas set 2 program records at NCAA East Preliminary

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A little bit of drama, two program records, and one national qualifier.

All in all, a very good day for Central Michigan track & field on Thursday at the NCAA East Preliminary at North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

CMU's Quiara Wheeler placed eighth in the hammer throw, punching her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. in two weeks. She broke her own program record with a 64.90-meter toss (212 feet, 11 inches).

Kasey Staley was the Chippewas' other program-record setter as she cleared 4.07 meters (13-4 ¼) in the pole vault.

The top 12 finishers in each event advanced to the NCAA Championships. Each event at the East Preliminary comprised 48 competitors.

Wheeler's record-setting toss came on her first of throw of the day.

"Quiara, on her first throw, to break the program record, that was really, really big," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "And she needed it just to get out (of the preliminary) this year."

Wheeler in March earned Second Team All-America honors with her 10^th-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She missed most of the outdoor season with an illness, returning three weeks ago for the Mid-American Conference Championships. She set the then-program record of 63.27 meters (207-7) in winning the hammer throw at that meet.

"She's been looking really, really great and she's just getting started this season," Swieton said. "I'm pretty confident that there's some big things to come out in Eugene for her."

Staley's record vault came on her third, and final, attempt and ended a career-long quest. Her previous best was 4.01 meters or 13-1 ¾, two inches shy of the previous record set in 2005 by Amanda Storck and tied in 2019 by Siobhan Szerencsits.

"I pretty much had no negative thoughts," said Staley, who finished tied for 25th. "I was like, 'I'm going to make this.' And I did. It was kind of that simple. It's been a long time coming.

"I'm not going to lie; I did cry a little bit and I did hug my coach – that doesn't happen often. I was just overwhelmed with emotions. It's a good way to go out. Couldn't help but shed a tear there."

Because of the nature of pole vault, Staley endured extremely long gaps of inactivity between attempts and to hit the record on her final attempt added to the drama of her accomplishment, Swieton said.

"It was big -- it was super big," she said. "To keep her composure and do it on her third attempt, I feel like that's really, really hard to do. At that point she had been standing in the sun for like 3 ½ hours because the vault takes so long. To do that under those conditions, I'm just really, really proud of her and really, really happy for her."

CMU's Marissa Dunn placed 22^nd in the hammer throw and Maya Bennett was 35^th. The Chippewas' Erin Howard placed 42^nd in the shot put. Howard is scheduled to compete on Saturday afternoon in the discus.

Dunn recorded a season-best 59.84-meter toss (196-4) in the hammer, while Bennett's best throw measured 57.29 meters (187-11). Howard's best shot put covered 14.74 meters (48-4 ½).

"We had an awesome day," Swieton said. "Everybody went out today and just competed really hard. And that's awesome. It was a fun day and super fun to watch them compete and enjoy it. I'm just super proud and we're really excited for the ladies for what they've accomplished."