NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD PAGE
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS LIST
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN (HOST) DIVISION III NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SITE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College's Lauren Rice (SR, Minnetonka, Minn./Holy Family Catholic HS) will compete in her first NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships this weekend, qualifying in the 5,000-meter run, it was announced on Monday.

Rice claimed the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in the indoor 5,000-meter run last Friday in the conference meet at Saint John's, shattering her old school record with a 17:19.92 time -- a time nearly 38 seconds faster than the second-place finisher at the conference meet. Her track-adjusted time of 17:12.02 ranks 11th-fastest among the 17 entries in the national championship field.

Rice also finished second in the women's 3,000-meter run at the MIAC Championships, setting a new school record with a 9:59.28 time. The track-adjusted time of 9:54.19 fell just short of the top 17 runners that qualified for the national meet.

The NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships will be held this weekend at the University of Nebraska's Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. The women's 5,000-meter run will be held on Friday (3/14) at 5:50 p.m.

Last season, Rice earned two All-MIAC honorable-mention honors in track and field, finishing fourth in the outdoor 10,000-meter run and sixth in the outdoor 5,000-meter run. She also holds Augsburg's school record in the outdoor 5,000-meter run (17:51.31). In cross country in 2012, Rice finished eighth in the MIAC Championships and 23rd at the NCAA Division III Central Regional.

Rice is the 63rd Augsburg entry in women's track and field national championships competition in school history (58 NCAA Division III, 5 NAIA), and the first for interim head coach Jarred Sampson at Augsburg.