In just the fourth season of competition, Eastern University Women's Track and Field had two athletes qualify for the 2019 Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Kierra Zack earned a spot in the Mile Run to become Eastern's first National Qualifier in a running event. Nicole Weenink, who qualified for the 2018 Outdoor Championships in the Triple Jump, doubled that with qualifying marks in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump. She is the first Eastern athlete to qualify for a Championship in two events.

While Weenink was comfortably inside the top-20 in both her events, Zack's spot in the Championships was not yet secure. She shaved over a second off her season-best mark at Tufts this last weekend, but she sat in the 30th spot after all the times were entered. As often happens in distance events, athletes will often hit qualifying marks in multiple races and have to make choices for the National Championships. With the Mile being run in prelims and finals over the two-day event, athletes who qualify in additional distance events may elect to save their legs for longer races or compete with a qualifying mark in a different field. As declarations came through, Zack moved well into the Top-20. Her time has her seeded 13th.

Zack made the decision to come to Eastern when Track and Field was still not certain. The University committed to add the indoor and outdoor programs in July of 2015. The Eastern Women scored 14 points at the team's first MAC Indoor Championships. Zack anchored two relays and ran the open mile to help Eastern to 14 points. This year, she ran four events in the MAC Championships. She ran the 5,000 meters, the 3,000 Meters, the Mile, and the anchor on the 4 x 800 Meter Relay. She took two thirds, a fourth, and was part of a silver medal relay. Eastern's Women finished third at the meet.

"This is so great for Ki," Head Coach Mike Wilson said. "So much of what the program is becoming is because she was here. Her willingness to run all those races for the team at the Championships says a lot about who she is. Her ideal day would probably have been DMR, Mile, 800 Meters, and the 4 x 800. She would have scored in all of those events and might have had a shot at winning the mile, but she put team success first and was able to grab points where we would not have. I am really looking forward to seeing her run her favorite event with fresh legs on a fast track in a national setting. I could not be more happy for her."

Weenink came into her own in the long jump this season. She competed in four long jump competitions and set a new PR in each of them. After jumping a personal-best 5.39 meters in December, she added over a foot and grew in consistency over the next three months. Her 5.75 meter effort on her final jump at the MAC Championships moved her into the fifth spot in the national lst. Her previous best two results also would have put her into the field in the long jump.

This past weekend, Weenink jumped triple jump on fresh legs for the first time. She also ran hurdles and the 200 Meter Dash during the season. She reached the finals with an 11.43 meter jump and then fouled her first two attempts in the finals. She was going to be on the outside looking in unless she pulled out a big jump on her final effort. She put together an 11.97 meter jump to move into the fifth national spot in that event as well. She was outside the top-30 going into the weekend. Last Spring, Weenink qualified on her final attempt at the Widener LCQ.

"Nicole is so talented and works at a national level every day," Head Coach Mike Wilson said. "She can simultaneously display competitive fire and unshakeable poise in big moments, and this is what makes her such a tough athlete. To see her competing on the national stage in two events is a remarkable testament to her work, and I could not be more thrilled for her."

The National Championships will be held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. Both Zack and Weenink competed at the venue last season. Competition starts on Friday.