By: by Emily Diekelmann
NCAA Prelimary Information
Women's Starting List
Live Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Having already made it to Nationals during the cross country season, Mackenzie Howe looks to make another trip this time for track when she competes at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Bloomington, Ind. on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Howe will be joined by four athletes from the men’s team who will be competing as well over the three day competition.
“We are looking forward to three days of great competition among the nation's best during the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships at the Indiana University this week,” head track and field coach Andy Eggerth said. “We've had a lot of time since the conference championship to prepare and peak for this competition, so I'm anticipating some great results.”
Competing for the first time on the E.C. Billy Hayes track, Howe will for the second straight season try to advance to NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in two weeks. Howe will once again compete in the 10,000 meter race . Last season, she finished 22nd in the region at preliminaries in the 10,000 meter race.
Etching her name into the Kennesaw State record books, Howe is the proud owner of three individual outdoor school records and one as a part of a quartet. She currently holds the 3,000 steeplechase, 5,000, 10,000 and one of the 4x1600 athletes.
The high point of Howe’s season was her trip to Palo Alto, Calif. and the Stanford Invitational. Competing against some of the top athletes in the country, Howe finished eighth while fighting a bout with food poisoning. Her time of 34:52.16 is the current school record.
In order for Howe to make it to Nationals in Iowa, she will have to finish in the top 12 of the race. She is ranked 29th at the start out of 48 athletes. For Howe, this is her last chance as a college athlete to show what she is all about.
“Being able to qualify for Regionals was something that was important for me to try to do, because it really is the final race of my college running career,” Howe said. “I am going to go into the race no different than I would for any other race I have ever done, but I do feel like I need to go all out and leave everything out on the track. It's an exciting but nerve-racking race but I love that feeling. When I go out there Thursday I am going to run my race and not worry about anything. I am going to try to soak up the feeling of being in such a competitive race and enjoy it one last time. God has given me a gift that I am using for him and him only. He is my strength and knowing that is what keeps me tough in the end.”
