June 1, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Bowling Green State University senior track member Kerri McClung has qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Sacramento, California, scheduled to begin on June 7. She is the first Falcon in the shot put to reach Nationals in ten years (Nikki Lessig, 1995).

How McClung Qualified (According To Trackshark.com)
Competition in an event at the regional meets is required for consideration to participate in that event at the national championships. Any individual or relay team on the descending order list for each event, from which the participants in the national championships will be selected, must declare and participate in the regional meets, except for those events not contested at the regional meets (decathlon, heptathlon and the men's and women's 10,000 meters). To earn entrance into the national championship meet, you have to finish in the top 8 in an individual event and top 6 in a relay to be put into the at large selection pool. Once in that pool, your season best mark will be used for qualification.

McClung finished seventh at Regionals in Bloomington, Indiana, with a shot put mark of 51-01, but reached Nationals with her performances throughout the year.

This season the Portland, Indiana, native broke her own school record twice in the shot put. Her toss of 52-08.25 at the Campbell/Wright Open back on May 7 surpassed her previous school record toss of 50-08, set four weeks prior at the Miami Invitational (April 9).

During the outdoor campaign McClung had three first-place finishes in the shot put, including a first-place mark of 51-07 at the MAC Championships. (She also finished first at the Miami Invite and WMU Tri-Meet).

For her career she has been named to the Academic All-MAC squad the last three years, and currently holds a 3.85 grade-point average. She captured the 2003 Indoor Championship in the same event after a career-best toss of 15.01 meters. In 2002 she was named to the indoor second-team after finishing second at the MAC Championships.

For more information on the NCAA National Championships, as well as up to the minute results click here