Mankato, Minn. --- Eight Minnesota State track and field athletes will participate in this year’s NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on March 7-9.
 
The athletes representing MSU will include: Jerrell Hancock, Chris Reed, Grant Luer, Devin Allbaugh, Nathan Hancock, Tandy Juell, Keyvan Rudd and Faryn Wirkus.
 
Jerrell Hancock: Hancock, a senior sprinter from St. Louis, Mo., will be returning to compete in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash for the second consecutive year. He recieved all All-American honors last year in both events as he finished in eighth and fifth-place respectively. He recorded the second-fastest time in the nation this season in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.09. His time of 6.78 in the 60-meter dash is eighth-best in the nation.
 
Chris Reed: Reed, a junior thrower from Omaha, Neb., will be making his second appearance at the national championship  (he finished 12th in the shot put as a freshman in 2011) and will compete in both the weight throw and shot put. He broke the MSU record and tied the NSIC record in the shot put at the 2013 NSIC Championships with a throw of 18.17-meters en route to a first-place finish. Reed's toss of 19.45-meters in the weight throw at the NSIC Championships ranks as fifth-best in the nation this year.
 
Grant Luer: Luer, a senior thrower from Menomonie, Wis., qualified in the shot put with a throw of 17.04-meters. That throw ranks as the ninth-best throw in the nation. This will also be his first appearance at the championships.
 
Devin Allbaugh: Allbaugh, a senior from Bettendorf, Iowa, will be making his first appearance in the national meet in the one-mile run. The time of 4:10.46 he ran at the NSIC Championships is a career-best and qualified him for the national meet.
 
Nathan Hancock: Hancock, a sophomore from Independence, Mo., will be making his second consecutive appearance in the heptathlon. Last year he earned All-American honors when he finished sixth with 5,054 points. He holds the third-highest point total in the nation as he put up a school record 5,301 points at the NSIC Multi Championships.
 
Tandy Juell: Juell, a senior from Redwood Falls, Minn., will be making his second consecutive appearance in the heptathlon as he finished eighth with 5,013 points last year in earning All-American honors. He put up a career-best 5,102 points at the NSIC Multi Championships to qualify.
 
Keyvan Rudd: Rudd, a junior from Davenport, Iowa, is returning to the championships for the third consecutive year in the high jump. In 2011 he finished in ninth-place with a leap of 1.96-meters, while last year he earned All-American honors with with a jump of 2.12-meters that placed him seventh. His qualifying jump of 2.18-meters is third best in the nation.
 
Faryn Wirkus: Wirkus, a freshman from Edgar, Wis., is the lone member of the Minnesota State women’s track and field to qualify for this year’s championshps. She will be competing in the pole vault which she qualified for at the NSIC Championships with a vault of 3.81-meters. She currently is tied for the tenth-best mark in the nation.