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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – On the first day of women's competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds Thursday, the North Dakota State throwers made their presence felt.
 
The Bison women's track & field team earned five berths to the NCAA Outdoor Championships – all in the throwing events. Akealy Moton qualified in the javelin and shot put, and she was joined by Maddy Nilles in the hammer throw, Kari Wolfe in the javelin, and Shelby Gunnells in the shot put.
 
The top 12 finishers in each event at the Preliminary Rounds advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 9-12.
 
Moton registered a career-best throw of 179-1 (54.58m) for the top mark in the javelin on Thursday. She climbed to No. 14 in the NCAA this season and No. 3 on the NDSU all-time list in the event. The West Fargo product followed up with a throw of 58-08.75 (17.90m) for third place in the shot put.
 
Nilles, already a first-team All-American in the hammer, posted a mark of 216-4 (65.95m) to take fourth in the West and earn her spot in Eugene.
 
Wolfe earned her first trip to the national meet, finishing seventh in the javelin with her throw of 174-3 (53.11m).
 
Gunnells took eighth in the shot put, throwing 55-09.25 (17.00m) to secure her trip to Eugene.
 
Senior Tasha Willing concluded her Bison career by competing in the shot put and hammer, taking 30th in the shot. Gunnells also threw the hammer, as five Bison women qualified for the West Prelims in a pair of throwing events each.
 
Bison senior Annika Rotvold got tangled up in traffic and took a fall, finishing 44th in the 1500m. She ends her NDSU career ranked third in school history for the 1500m, as well as a school record holder in the distance medley.
 
The NCAA West Prelims will continue over the next two days, with the men concluding on Friday and the women on Saturday.