The final indoor track and field meet for the ISU Cyclones concluded Saturday with a showing of improvement at the end of the season. 

The ISU NCAA Indoor Qualifier yielded 11 personal records for ISU athletes as they tried for one final push to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 12 – 13 in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Coming into the final event at Harry Hoak Track, the Cyclones had four athletes provisionally qualified for NCAA Championships, all women. Senior distance runner Lisa Koll is considered an automatic qualifier in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, as well as a provisional qualifier in the one-mile run. 

Sophomores Betsy Saina and Semehar Tesfaye have also provisionally qualified in the 5,000 meters and one-mile run. Senior Erin Penticoff added to the list of qualifiers with her performance in the 800-meter run Saturday as Penticoff and a few select others competed at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind. Penticoff’s time of 2:07.70 was quick enough to make the provisional cutoff but currently ranks too low on a list of national times to make the field for the NCAA Indoor Championships. 

Senior hurdler Jenna Caffrey had her name on the list of provisional qualifiers in the 60-meter hurdles event with an 8.36 second effort at the ISU Classic. The only lock on the team currently is Lisa Koll in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, where her times are the quickest in the nation for women’s track. 

On the men’s side, the distance medley relay team, which was also in South Bend, ran an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:40.77, good enough for 15th place at the Alex Wilson Invitational. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, the 14 teams ahead of them also provisionally qualified, leaving the team out of the 12 team qualifying field. Hillary Bor and Brandon Rooney also ran the mile in South Bend, but neither qualified. 

Back in Ames, junior Elphas Sang finished eighth in the 800-meter run in 1:50.22, a provisional qualifying time. Sang’s time is only 53rd best in the nation, which will leave him out of the NCAA field. A pair of fifth-place finishers were senior Dan Fadgen, in the mile, and junior thrower Robbie Utterback, in the weight throw. Junior Josh Koglin, who needed a two-foot personal record to provisionally qualify, fouled on all three of his throws.

The ISU NCAA Qualifier was the final home meet of the season for the Cyclones, who will take those whose times qualify for NCAA Championships on the road for the first time this season to compete Friday and Saturday at the University of Arkansas. The meet will begin showcasing the best track and field athletes in the country Friday with the men’s heptathlon.