18 Spartans Earn Entry to NCAA East First Round

EAST LANSING, Mich. – 18 Michigan State Track and Field Student athletes – eight women and 10 men – were selected to compete in the NCAA East First Round Regional in Lexington, Ky. from Wednesday, May 22 through Saturday, May 25.
 
Each of the Spartans earned entry by posting an East Region top-48 mark in their respective events during the outdoor season. If the Spartans place within the top 12 in their event, they advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the famed Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from June 5-8, where they will meet the top 12 finishers from the West Regional, being held in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
MSU, less than a week removed from the men posting their best finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 15 years, sends the most student-athletes to an NCAA preliminary since 25 Spartans were selected in 2019. Last year, 12 earned berths, in 2022, 17, and in 2021, 15, while the 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled due to COVID.
 
The multis events – the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon – are not contended at the preliminary rounds. Instead, the athletes with the top 12 season-best scores from both regions automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in June. Such is the case for 2024 Big Ten Decathlon Champion Ryan Talbot, ranked 7^th in the East, and the Region’s top-ranked Heath Baldwin, while they can still compete in individual events in the first round, if qualified.
 
The Spartans selected to the NCAA East First Round are as follows, with their season-best mark regional rank in parentheses:
 
MSU Women:
Shae Harbaugh – Sr. – 800m (45^th)
Lauren Freeland – Gr. – 1500m (24^th)
Katie Osika – Gr. – 5000m (9^th)
Kaia Scheffler – Sr. – 100m Hurdles (40^th)
Sophia Mettes – So. – Pole Vault (8^th)
Natalie Blake – So. – Pole Vault (37^th)
Jessica Stieb – Fr. – Shot Put (28^th)
Opal Jackson – Jr. – Shot Put (42^nd) & Discus (40^th)
 
MSU Men:
Noah Sage – Jr. – 200m (33^rd)
Riley Hough – So. – 5000m (32^nd)
CarLee Stimpfel – Gr. – 10000m (45^th)
Heath Baldwin – Gr. – 110m Hurdles (26^th)
Andrew Nolan – Sr. – 3000m Steeplechase (20^th)
Tyler Pritchett – Sr. – 300m Steeplechase (38^th)
Brady Schultz – So. – High Jump (36^th)
Adam Blue – So. – Pole Vault (46^th)
Colby Morlock – So. – Shot Put (26^th)
Dalton DeBeau – Fr….