Six Tigers qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships

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AUBURN, Ala (auburntigers.com) — Six members of the Auburn track and field team, including five women, have qualified for the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced Thursday. The championships will be held March 11-12 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Auburn qualifiers on the women’s side include Michelle Atherley (pentathlon), Jessie Johnson (pole vault), Marshay Ryan (triple jump), Samantha Scarlett (60m hurdles) and Jonielle Smith (60m).

Senior triple jumper Shawn Johnson is the men’s lone qualifier for the championships. Johnson currently ranks fifth nationally with a jump 16.42m/53-10.5. The Canonsburg, Pa., native is Auburn’s first NCAA triple jump qualifier since Leevan Sands in 2004. Johnson was second in the triple jump and high jump at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Jessie Johnson will be competing in her second consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships. Tied for sixth nationally with a school-record mark of 4.40m/14-5.25, Johnson was fifth last year at NCAAs. The senior from Argyle, Texas, was the SEC runner up last week after breaking her own school record for the third time this season.

Ryan, the 2014 NCAA Indoors runner up as a freshman, will be making her second trip to nationals. A Chambersburg, Pa., native, Ryan enters nationals ranked 10th with a jump of 13.22m/43-4.5. Ryan is the first Tiger female since Michelle Vaughn (2006-07) to make two NCAA Indoor appearances in the triple jump.

Senior Samantha Scarlett is appearing in her third straight NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m high hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica, native finished 10th in 2015 and 11th in 2014. Scarlett is tied for ninth nationally with a time of 8.14.

A true freshman, Atherley is Auburn’s first-ever NCAA Indoor qualifier in the pentathlon, after breaking a 27-year old school record with 4148 points at the SEC Championships. The North Point, Fla., native has competed in just two pentathlon events in her career and is 16th nationally. Her first pentathlon competition was February 5-6 when she broke the school freshman record at the Husker Invitational.

Sophomore sprinter Jonielle Smith qualified for her first NCAA Indoor Championship appearance, but will not compete due to an injury sustained earlier this season. Smith, who sat out of the SEC Indoor meet with the injury, is ranked 17th in the country with a time of 7.31 in the 60m dash.

ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 11 starting at 5:25 p.m. CT and March 12 at 3:55 p.m. CT. A re-air of the championship will take place on Sunday, March 13 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and Wednesday, March 23 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.