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May 20, 2009-- Six athletes will be representing the North Central College women's track and field team this weekend at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships in Marietta, Ohio as the squad looks to continue its momentum from the indoor championships where they recorded a sixth place finish.

Three of the team's six qualifiers will compete in the pole vault with defending indoor National Champion, Rachel Secrest, leading the way. Secrest enters the 2009 Championships with the top women's vault ever in Division III, having cleared 13 feet 5.25 inches at North Central's Gregory Invitational on May 14. Nipping at her heels are UW-Stout's Pam Sellberg and Moravian College's (Pa.) Anna Heim, both a mere three inches off Secrest's best and tied with the second best vault in the Division.

Joining Secrest in the pole vault are Carolyn Kalafut and newcomer Meghan Court. Kalafut and Court each hit their provisional qualifying marks on May 1 at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships, helping the Cardinals to a one-two-three sweep of the event. At 12 feet 3.5 inches, Kalafut sits tied for ninth heading into the championships and is looking to improve on her indoor performance that saw her place seventh, earning All-American honors. Court, the lone Cardinal without previous national meet experience, currently sits 20th on the national list with a vault of 11'10.5".

Michelle Criscione is the team's fourth field athlete representative, qualifying in the high jump. The two-time indoor national qualifier is currently tied for 16th on the national list after clearing 5'5.25" on May 2 to win the event at the CCIW Championships. At the indoor championships, Criscione finished fifth, earning All-American honors for the first time in her career.

Making her second appearance at the outdoor championships is Lauren Brightmore after qualifying in the 400 meter dash. The sophomore finished fifth in her heat in 2008 and heads into the 2009 edition ranked ninth on the national list, clocking a 56.37 at the CCIW Championships on May 2.

Two-time indoor All-American Brandye Jackson looks to earn her first outdoor All-American designation, qualifying for the 100 meter hurdles. Jackson currently sits 17th on the national list, running a 14.65 at North Central's Dr. Keeler Invitational on May 8.

Projecting team scores based on the national performance list have the Cardinals finishing 25th and scoring 10 points. UW-La Crosse is the projected National Champion with 48.5 points followed closely by 2009 indoor champion Wartburg College (Iowa) with 42.5 points. UW-Oshkosh and Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) rounded out the top four with projected point totals of 36 and 34, respectively.

Competition begins on Thursday with the first Cardinal not in action until Friday. The 100m hurdle preliminaries are set to begin at 3:20 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Friday with the 400m prelims and pole vault also contested at 3:55 p.m. and 4 p.m. Action concludes on Saturday with finals for the 100m hurdles and 400m dash at 1:55 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. while the high jump gets underway at 2:30 p.m.