PITTSBURG — The 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships open Friday (Mar. 11) at the Robert W. Plaster Center on the Pittsburg State University campus and continues through Saturday (Mar. 12).

Friday's action gets under way at 9:30 a.m. with the start of the men's heptathlon action. The final scheduled event Friday is the women's distance medley relay set for 7:45 p.m. On Saturday the competition starts with the women's pentathlon at 9 a.m. and the championships culminate later that evening with the men's 4x400m relay slated as the last event at 7:15 p.m.

Tickets for the national championships are $15 for an adult two-day pass or $10 for an adult single-day pass. Student-child (3-18) single-day passes are $5.

Adams State is the defending NCAA Division II Indoor Men's Track & Field National Champion. The Grizzlies scored 45 points last year at Birmingham, Ala., to edge co-national runners-up Findlay and Grand Valley State, which both compiled 40 points. Ashland (36) and St. Augustine's (32) rounded out the top five men's squads.

Centra Missouri is the defending NCAA Division II Indoor Women's Track & Field National Champion. The Jennies scored 47 points to capture their first national title in school history. Hillsdale (40), Ashland (37), New Mexico Highlands (37) and Lincoln (35) rounded out the top five women's squads.

Gorillas Primed for Championships Experience
Nineteen Gorilla track & field athletes qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships – 11 women and eight men.

Sophomore Emilee Iverson leads the Pitt State women. Iverson enters the national meet with the top qualifying mark in the high jump with a best clearance of 5 feet, 9.25 inches. Junior Emilyn Dearman also is qualified second in the pentathlon (3928 pts.). She also joins teammates Olivia Boone, Alyssa Hammons and Courtney Nelson to compete in the 4x400m relay. The squad qualified 17th with a best time of 3 minutes, 46.96 seconds.

Senior Cassie Caswell qualified third in the shot put (52-0.5) and fourth in the weight throw (63-8.25), while junior Amira Jenkins qualified third in the triple jump (40-5). Freshman Jena Black qualified fourth in the shot put (51-0.75) while junior Jasmine Smith qualified eighth in the event (49-4.25).

Nelson, a sophomore, qualified sixth in the 60 meter hurdles (8.50), while sophomore Heather Glenn qualified sixth in pole vault (13-0.25). Junior Megan Wickersham also qualified 12th in the pole vault (12-6.25).

Senior Garrett Appier leads the Pitt State men's contingent. Appier enters the championships ranked No. 1 in the shot put with a top mark of 64 feet, 1.75 inches. Sophomore Tanner McNutt also has the second-highest point total in the heptathlon (5559 pts) heading into nationals.

Freshman Louis Rollins is qualified third in the long jump (25-0), while sophomore Elijah McGill qualified 12th in the discipline (24-4.5). Junior Bo Farrow also qualified 12th in the shot put (57-1.5). Additionally, the team of McNutt, Aren Martin, Elonte Battle and Jared Page qualified 12th in the 4x400m relay in 3:13.79.