2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to begin Friday

Mike Ludwig
March 9, 2006

Several hundred of the nation's top Divsion III student-athletes have migrated to St. Olaf College for the 2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which begin Friday morning at the Tostrud Center in Northfield, Minn.

"Tostrud may very well be the best facility ever to host the indoor championships," said Bill Thornton, who is in his 35th season as men's track and field coach at St. Olaf. Thornton submitted the bid for the meet because he "simply felt the facility should be shared with Division III track and field athletes."

Over 400 athletes from over 70 institutions will take part in the event.

Women's Championship
Williams College has a meet-best 13 qualifiers on the women's side. UW-LaCrosse has 11, while Wartburg College and UW-Oshkosh have 10 each. UW-Oshkosh has won the last two team titles.

Men's Championship
UW-LaCrosse, winners of the last five championships has 14 qualifiers in the men's event. Williams College has 11 and Nebraska-Wesleyan 10.

MIAC Qualifiers
Sixteen Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athletes have qualified, including three from the Saint Mary's women's team.

Host St. Olaf has two. Pete Cathcart (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) in the shot put and Stacy Griffin (Jr., Newton, Kan.) in the weight throw.

Streaming Video
Streaming video of the competition will be available via the meet website - stolaf.edu/athletics/ncaatr - for both days. The link will be live just prior to 10 a.m. each day.

Meet Results
Meet results will be posted after every two events at ncaasports.com, the meet website and raceberryjam.com.

Tickets
Tickets are available at the door.
Student Single Session - $5
Student All Sessions - $9
Adult Single Session - $7
Adult All Sessions - $12

Contact media relations specialist Mike Ludwig at (507) 786-3834 or ludwigm@stolaf.edu.