Grace Richardson, Katherine Cochran, Janie Cooper, and Julian Aske of the New York University men's and women's track & field teams have punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, to be held on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9, at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, VA.

The NCAA selects athletes who have posted times that rank within the top 20 competitors in their respective events.

Richardson, who was recently named Niagara Regional Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), is set to compete in the championship section of the 3k and 5k this weekend. Richardson posted season-best times of 9:27.12 in the 3k and 16:44.20 in the 5k, establishing new program records in both events. She also toppled the previous program record in the mile with a time of 4:49.24 to earn USTFCCCA honors in all three events. She is set to enter this weekend's competition as the second seed in the 3k and the fourth seed in the 5k.

Cochran, the University Athletic Association (UAA) runner-up in the 5k, also qualified for both the 3k and 5k with bests of 9:46.58 and 17:07.18, respectively. Her top times throughout the season earned her All-Region honors in both events as she enters the weekend as the 13th seed in the 3k and the 20th seed in the 5k.

Cooper is entering the 3k this weekend with a season-best of 9:50.38, which earned her the 19th spot in the championship event. Cooper garnered All-Region honors in both the 3k and the mile, with a season-best time of 5:03.73.

Aske, a freshman, will compete in the championship section of the men's 800-meter dash after posting a season-best 1:51.95 in the event at the UAA Championships, which also earned him All-Region honors. Aske will enter the race as the 20th seed.

"I'm very excited to have four athletes qualify for nationals this year," says Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley. "This is our best showing at the national meet in years, and we should have some good performances building on the success we have accrued this season and the seasons prior."

In addition to the honors bestowed upon the NCAA qualifiers, the USTFCCCA also honored five other Violets for their accomplishments this season. To receive All-Region honors, athletes must have recorded a time this season that ranks within the top 5 among all competitors in the Niagara region which includes 27 teams.

For the men, Nishad Sankar (triple jump) and Ryan Tobin (3,000-meter and 5,000-meter run) earned Niagara All-Region honors while Dominga Rivera received honors in the women's mile.

The women's distance medley relay team consisting of Rivera, Richardson, Beverly Okyere, and Viv Kane earned All-Region acclaim for their fourth-place, 11:44.84 finish at the UAA Championships.

Competition is set to begin for the Violets this Friday with Aske competing in the preliminary round of the 800-meter run, followed by Richardson and Cochran in the 5k. The women's 3k is set to begin at 5:40 PM on Saturday, March 9th.