Talented Senior Trio Head To Nationals

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/22/17)---A talented trio of senior field athletes are officially headed to the NCAA Division III National Outdoor Meet in Geneva, Ohio on May 25-27.

Emma Peterson will be making her second consecutive trip to the national outdoor meet and looking to earn her second straight All-American honor. Mikayla Forness is also making her second straight trip to the national meet but is hoping to record her first All-American finish. Mandy Mercil is the national meet newcomer as she is headed to her first-ever NCAA meet.

2017 NCAA National Outdoor Meet Menu
- NCAA Meet Schedule of Events (pdf) 

- NCAA Meet General Information

- NCAA Meet Live Video

- NCAA Meet Live Results

The trio extend Concordia's streak of sending athletes to the NCAA National Outdoor Meet. The Cobbers have now had at least one athlete earn a trip to the national outdoor meet for 35 consecutive seasons. CC has also had at least three athletes qualify for the NCAA outdoor meet in six straight seasons.

All three seniors have also earned their way to the national meet with marks in the Top 10 of the nation. Peterson has Top 10 marks in the high jump and triple jump while Forness is in the Top 10 in the javelin and heptathlon and Mercil owns the No.9 mark in the shot put.

Peterson is the most decorated of the three senior athletes headed to Ohio. She has earned All-American honors at the past two NCAA national meets. She finished in seventh place at 2016 NCAA National Outdoor Meet and tied for fourth at this year's national indoor meet.

Peterson qualified for her third straight overall trip to nationals and second consecutive trek to the outdoor meet by clearing a height of 5-07.75 in the high jump at the Drake relays on Apr. 26. That mark broke her own school record in the event and is tied for the fifth best in DIII this year.

Peterson waited until the MIAC Outdoor Meet to qualify in her second event. She recorded a distance of 39-10.50 in the triple jump which broke the conference meet record and is the seventh farthest in the nation this year. Her winning distance was also the second farthest in school history.

Peterson was named the Most Outstanding Field Athlete at both the MIAC Indoor and Outdoor Meets and took home Performance-of-the-Meet honors at the conference outdoor meet.

Like Peterson, Forness also won a pair of events at the MIAC Meet and both of her marks pushed her into the Top 10 of the nation and punched her ticket to nationals.

Peterson's journey for a third All-American award will start on Friday, May 26 when she competes in the high jump starting at 10:30 a.m. She will then finish off her career by participating in the triple jump on Saturday, May 27 at 1:30 p.m.  

Forness will be competing in the heptathlon and javelin at the national outdoor meet for the second straight season. Last year she finished ninth in the heptathlon – missing out on All-American honors by a mere 19 points – and was 17th in the javelin.

Forness started her trek to Ohio by winning the conference heptathlon on May 5. She recorded a total of 4,721 points in the seven events at the MIAC meet. That total is the fourth best in Division III this year and third highest in school history.

Forness qualified in the javelin by winning the event at the conference meet with a distance of 144-07. Her national-qualifying mark came on her very first attempt and earned her second consecutive MIAC javelin title.

Forness kicks off her second national outdoor meet on Thursday, May 25 when she starts the heptathlon at 11:30 a.m. She will compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 meters on Day 1 and then finish with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters on Friday. Thursday will be a busy day for Forness as she will also take part in the regular javelin competition which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Mercil has had a stellar senior season. She won the shot put at the MIAC Indoor Meet in February and backed that up with the outdoor title. Mercil's winning distance at the conference outdoor meet came on her very last attempt and pushed her into ninth place in the nation. She put up a distance of 46-02.50 which was four feet farther than any other competitor in the competition and the fifth best in school history.

Mercil will have her shot at All-American honors when she competes on Friday, May 26 at 1:30 p.m.     

PAST COBBER NCAA OUTDOOR MEET PARTICIPANTS
2017 - Mikayla Forness, Mandy Mercil, Emma Peterson
2016 - Mikayla Forness, Olivia Johnson, Emma Peterson
2015 - Hilary Birchem, Olivia Johnson, Cherae Reeves, Vanessa Johnson
2014 - Hilary Birchem, Olivia Johnson, Cherae Reeves, Hilary Thompson
2013 - Kaari Jensen, Hilary Birchem, Olivia Johnson, Chelsea Klemetson, Cherae Reeves, Hilary Thompson  
2012 - Kaari Jensen, Hilary Birchem, Megan Hoffman, Chelsea Klemetson, Hilary Thompson
2011 - Kaari Jensen
2010 - Leah Kay
2009 - Leah Kay
2008 - Leah Kay, Katherine Brott
2007 - Heather Schuster
2006 - Angie Pfeiffer, Natalie Hanson
2005 - Nicole Plante, Angie Pfeiffer, Natalie Hanson, Alissa Bilden, Kelly Olson
2004 - Nicole Plante, Angie Pfeiffer, Amy Ravenhorst, Alissa Bilden, Kelly Olson
2003 - Angie Pfeiffer, Nicole Plante, Mariah Mougey
2002 - Kelli Tranby & Mariah Mougey
2001 - Heidi Brenden, Alicia Tull
2000 - Sara Grineski, Maria DeBoer & Karyn Senst
1999 - Heidi Brenden, Margaret Cropp, Maria DeBoer, Sara Grineski
1998 - Maria DeBoer, Laura Utke, Becky Kearns, Heidi Brenden, Sarah Severson, Amanda Glas,
1997 - Renee Erickson, Becky Kearns, Mollee Ludtke, Sarah Severson
1996 - Renee Erickson, Shannon Frey, Sarah Severson
1995 - Renee Erickson, Tracy Bernsten, Mollee Ludtke, Merrilee Rutherford, Britt Jacobson, Michelle Haugen
1994 - Renee Erickson, Tracy Bernsten, Merrilee Rutherford, Eryn Anderson, Michelle Haugen, Kristi Berger, Taria Heinen, Lydia Kubaka
1993 - Merrilee Rutherford, Eryn Anderson, Lydia Kubaka
1992 - Kris Kuehl
1991 - Kris Kuehl
1990 - Kris Kuehl
1989 - Kris DeBoer, Shelly Jader, Chris Fredrick, Jill Farver, Kris Kuehl, Lisa Conzemius
1988 - Michelle Jolie, Kris DeBoer, Mary Line, Tammy Krell, Chris Frederick, Ann McKenna
1987 - Tammy Krell, Mary Line, Vonni Arndt, Ann McKenna, Michelle Jolie, Kris DeBoer
1986 - Cynthia Bogatzki, Pamela Olsgaard, Tammy Krell, Mary Line
1985 - Cynthia Bogatzki, Mary Line, Tammy Krell, Ann McKenna, Pamela Olsgaard, Marion Strand
1984 - Linda McDuffy, Sharyl Geisert, Pamela Olsgaard, Cindy Bogatzki, Lynette Dyrdahl, Elizabeth Vitalis, Marion Strand
1983 - Lynette Dyrdahl, Kristine Freeman, Margo Roim, Cheryl Richter, Rachel Pietsch, Pamela Olsgaard