The qualifiers for the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were announced Tuesday by the DI Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee. The Championships will be held at The University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Thursday-Saturday, March 11-13.
The top-16 individuals and top-12 relay teams on the national performance list that didn’t scratch out of consideration for the meet qualified. That totals 240 individual entries per gender and 96-144 entries with four to six athletes on relay pools in the 4×400 and distance medley relay. Top-8 finishers will earn 1st-Team All-America honors while 9th-16th place finishers will earn 2nd-Team honors.
This years meet will be the first NCAA Division I Cross Country or Track and Field Championships since the November 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Athletes, coaches, and fans were in Albuquerque, New Mexico last March for the 2020 Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet. However, as reports of the virus spread across the country, the day before the scheduled 2-day meet, the NCAA announced that fans and families would not be allowed into the Convention Center to watch the meet, that attendance was limited to athletes, staff, and media. The next morning the meet was cancelled and that afternoon, all remaining NCAA Winter and Spring Championships were cancelled as the virus spread and health concerns skyrocketed.
The list of Missouri qualifiers includes four Missouri women and 10 men qualifying as 15 entries. The Missouri natives, former Missouri prep athletes, or current Missouri collegians is led by field eventers with seven of the 15 entries in the field events plus an additional multi-eventer in the heptathlete. Seven of the field eventers are jumpers/vaulters while two more entries are throwers. Track events make up five entries.
#TeamMO is led by Baylor junior KC Lightfoot. The Lee’s Summit native and former Lee’s Summit High School state champion has been unbelievable this year, not only breaking the pole vault collegiate record, but clearing the rarified air of the 6-meter mark bar. Lightfoot performances earned him Big 12 Field Athlete of the Year and his 2nd straight USTFCCCA South Central Regional Field Athlete of the Year.
2021 NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Missouri Qualifiers
Name School Year Indoor/Outdoor
Event(s) Seed Mark/Time Hometown, High School, Prev School
Men
KC Lightfoot Baylor Jr/So
Pole Vault 1st 6.00/19-8.25 Lee’s Summit, MO/HS
Ja’Mari Ward Mizzou 5yr-Sr/Jr
Long Jump 8th 7.93m/26-0.25 Cahokia, Ill./HS
Darius Clark Texas A&M Jr/Jr
Long Jump T9th 7.85m/25-9.25 Blue Springs, MO/HS, Coffeyville CC/FSU
Papay Glaywulu Nebraska Jr/Jr
Triple Jump 8th 16.31m/53-6.25 Kansas City, MO, Park Hill, Oklahoma
Georgi Nachev Mizzou So/So
Triple Jump 15th 16.07m/52-8.75 Yambol, Bulgaria
Isaiah Martin Purdue Jr/So
Heptathlon 12th 5610 pts Barnhart, MO, Hillsboro HS
Lance Lang Kentucky So/Fr
200m 8th 20.75 Florissant, MO, McCluer North
4x400m 3rd 3:04.67
Chris Conrad Mizzou Jr/So
800m 12th 1:48.45 O’ Fallon, Ill., O’ Fallon Township HS
Devin Meyrer Michigan Sr/Jr
5000m 16th 13:46.68 Wildwood, MO. Lafayette HS
Brandon Miller Texas A&M Fr/Fr
4x400m Alt* 8th 3:06.28 O’ Fallon, MO. John Burroughs HS
Women
DeeNia McMiller Memphis 5thSr/Sr
Weight Throw 4th 22.77m/74-8.5 Kansas City, MO. Winnetonka HS
Shauniece O’Neal So. Illinois Jr/So
Weight Throw 5th 22.72m/74-6.5 Florissant, MO. Hazelwood Central HS
Arianna Fisher Mizzou Jr/So
Triple Jump 10th 13.47m/44-2.5 San Jose, CA. Silver Creek HS
Euphenie Andre Mizzou So/Fr
Triple Jump 16th 13.21m/43-4.25 Dover Plains, NY, Dover HS
Missouri Track Fanatic & Running Junkie 