Stephanie Powell Headed to NCAA Championships

BROCKPORT, NY (05/23/2011)(readMedia)-- Senior Stephanie Powell (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) will cap off her stellar track and field career with an appearance in this weekend's 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field championships, held Thursday through Saturday on the Ohio Wesleyan campus in Delaware, Ohio.

Powell - making her second appearance at nationals - will be seeded 16th out of 23 competitors at the national meet.

Powell, who finished 12th in the hammer during the 2010 Outdoor National Championship meet, earned the repeat trip to nationals after provisionally qualifying with an effort of 51.40 meters (168 feet, 7.68 inches) during the Roberts Wesleyan Raider Open, held April 30.

With her performance at the Raider Open, Powell came within 0.36 inches of Bridget Mayne's school record of 51.41 meters (168 feet, 8.04 inches) set on April 25, 2008.

Powell, who is slated to compete at 6 p.m. Thursday evening, is the only Golden Eagle who will be competing at nationals. The hammer throw's top seed is Sue Trzebiatowski, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh who posted a qualifying effort of 58.21 meters (191 feet).

Powell, the two-time State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) hammer throw champion, has posted several provisional qualifying efforts for nationals this outdoor season. During last weekend's Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships, her final tune-up for nationals, Powell recorded an effort of 49.18 meters to place third. It was the eighth time in eight outdoor meets that Powell has logged a top-three finish in the hammer throw.

A two-time, first-team All-SUNYAC selection the last two outdoor seasons, Powell has won the hammer throw twice this outdoor season, with three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes.