Four athletes from the ISU women’s track and field team are heading to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Those women include Betsy Saina in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, Ejiro Okoro in the 800-meter run, and Christina Hillman and Danielle Frere in the shot put.

Saina will be defending her national title in the 5,000-meter run. She ran the fastest time in the country in the 5,000-meter this indoor season, a time that is nearly four seconds faster than anyone else. 

Saina, a redshirt senior, is making her third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

“I’ve been getting my legs back under me after running three events at the Big 12s. I’ve never done that before,” Saina said. “Training has been going really good and I’m ready to run my best.”

Ejiro Okoro will compete in the 800-meter run after qualifying in her final opportunity at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind., this past weekend. Okoro, a senior, is making her first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Cyclones will send a solid duo in the shot put with Christina Hillman and Danielle Frere, who are both in the top 16 in the nation. Hillman is coming off of a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, while Frere finished sixth at the event.

Both Hillman and Frere will make their first appearances at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The ISU women enter the championships with a No. 12 ranking in the country and are hoping to build off of a solid indoor season. ISU coach Corey Ihmels thinks the Cyclones are on their way to a successful meet. 

“With Ejiro [Okoro] in the 800-meter run, I think she will run well and we will have a solid meet and can really move up in the standings.

“Betsy is one of the best in distance right now, and I think distance, at this time, is better than it’s ever been, Ihmels said. “She’s really on another level.”