With the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships just a few days away on March 13 and 14, the Tiffin track & field women are on the way to Birmingham, Ala., looking for their highest-ever finish at nationals.

Links

Live Results
Video - Day One
Video - Day Two
NCAA DII Indoor T&F Page

Dragon Details

This marks the sixth time that the women have sent qualifiers to the national indoor meet, all coming in the last 11 years. The highest that the Dragons have placed is 27th in 2013 with seven points, but with seven qualifiers and eight total entries this season, Tiffin is poised to eclipse that mark.

The Dragons are currently ranked 10th in the nation by the USTFCCCA and have fluctuated between No. 6 and No. 13 during the season. 

Of Tiffin's eight entries, six are in the top-10 of their events and three of the seven athletes are making return trips to the NCAA Indoor Championships. In alphabetical order, the seven are Rajiah Andrews (60m & 60m hurdles), Nicole Berry (shot put), Mercedeez Francis (high jump), Marisa Gwinner (high jump), Brenda Johnson (shot put), Keyonna McGill (60m), and Jazilee Williams (pentathlon). Scheduled start times for each women's event that Tiffin is participating in are at the end of this preview.

Marisa Gwinner sits atop the Division II high jump ranks entering the championships with a mark of 1.80 meters, and does so by a significant margin as nobody else in the country has cleared higher than 1.76 meters. The sophomore hit that mark during the GMAC Indoor Championships at the end of February, increasing the national lead she already held with a mark of 1.76 meters earlier this season. Gwinner may already be the most successful women's track & field athlete that Tiffin has ever had, earning a pair of conference titles and All-American honors as a freshman between indoor and outdoor. She finished third in the event at the 2019 Indoor Championships and followed that up by making history at the Outdoor Championships as Tiffin's first-ever female National Champion.

Mercedeez Francis will join Gwinner in the high jump and is making her first-ever trip to a National Championships meet. The junior is tied for 14th in the event with a season-best mark of 1.71 meters.

Tiffin boasts the No. 4 and No. 5 shot put athletes in senior Brenda Johnson and sophomore Nicole Berry. Johnson enters the weekend in the fourth spot with a season-best and PR of 15.12 meters, while Berry is fifth and just .02 meters behind at 15.10 meters. It's Berry, however, that holds the Tiffin record in the event with a 15.65-meter throw during her freshman year. Johnson and Berry are two of just six DII throwers to eclipse the 15-meter mark this season. Both are making their second Indoor Championships appearance after also qualifying in the event last year.

Rajiah Andrews will be making her first NCAA Indoor Championships appearance, as the sophomore has qualified in both the 60m and 60m hurdles. Andrews is ninth in the country in both events heading into the weekend with marks of 7.51 seconds in the 60m and 8.59 seconds in the 60m hurdles. Andrews definitely has a shot to advance to the finals and ensure All-American honors as one of the top eight from the prelims, as her best is just .01 seconds behind the eighth-ranked athlete and within .03 seconds of fifth. She will look to do the same in the hurdles, coming into the championships .02 seconds outside of the top eight and within just .05 seconds of second-place on the entry list.

Keyonna McGill will run with Andrews in the 60m, earning a late qualification after another athlete scratched from the competition. The freshman has looked very impressive all season and will compete in her first NCAA Championships as the 15th-ranked athlete with a qualifying time of 7.56 seconds.

Jazilee Williams was on the outside looking in at qualification to this year's indoor championships in the pentathlon until the GMAC Championships, where the junior posted a PR of 3,678 points to jump all the way up to ninth in the country. This will also be Williams' first national meet of her career. She finished first or second in every stage of the event at GMACs.

Scouting the Field

Grand Valley is the favorite to win the 2020 indoor title by a wide margin, holding a lead of more than 100 points over second-place Lincoln (Mo.) in the last USTFCCCA poll before the weekend. The Lakers will have 19 athletes with 22 total entries competing in Birmingham. Of the 22 entries, the Lakers have three athletes that lead their respective events – Nicole Sreenan in the 400m, Allie Ludge in the 3000m, and Bobbie Goodwin in the weight throw.

No. 2 Lincoln, No. 3 Missouri Southern, and No. 4 Adams State are all tied for the second-most entries with 11. Lincoln's strength is in the sprints, as Rene Medley is the top seed in both the 60m and 200m, while Kissi-Ann Brown and Christine Moss are both ranked No. 2 in the 400m and are part of the second-fastest 4×400m relay. For Missouri Southern, Emily Presley (pole vault) and Payton Roberts (shot put) are ranked No. 1 in their respective events, and Jasmine Deckard is a double entry in the 60 (No. 6) and 200 (No. 2). Adams State has three top-3 performers in the distance events, with Stephanie Cotter leading the way as the top-ranked entry in the mile.

Rounding out the top-10, in order, is Northwest Missouri State (nine entries), U-Mary (seven entries), Minnesota State (10 entries), Indianapolis (five entries), West Texas A&M (seven entries), and the Dragons, whose eight entries are tied for eighth-most at this year's indoor championships.

Tiffin Women's Competition Schedule

*All times eastern