May 31, 2006

Senior Matt Piekarski has been accepted into the field of decathlon at the 2006 NCAA Championship. The multi-event will be contested over a two day span - June 7-8 - at Sacramento State.

Piekarski's mark of 7236 - a new Marquette record set en route to capturing the BIG EAST individual title in early May - ranks him 21st nationally.

"Everything came together for Matt at the BIG EAST meet. With his excellent winning score of over 7200 points, we felt confident that he would get in to nationals." said head coach Dave Uhrich. "Matt has had a very good couple of weeks of training and he is ready to improve upon his conference performance. This is a great way for Matt to finish up his Marquette career."

Piekarski joins Michaela Courtney, who earned her spot in the national championship meet by placing second in the women's 1,500m run at the 2006 NCAA Mideast Regional on May 27. The sophomore broke her own school record by over three seconds, clocking 4:18.10 - the sixth-fastest time in the country this season. Courtney will compete in the trials section on Thursday, June 8. The finals are scheduled to be held on Sat., June 10.

For more information about the 2006 NCAA Championship, click here.