Peterson and Lyle earn selections to NCAA national championships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu May 17, 2016 Peterson and Lyle earn selections to NCAA national championships MSUB Track and Field on Facebook | MSUB Track and Field on ISSUU NCAA D2 Outdoor National Track and Field Championships | TFRRS Performance Lists

Seniors Robert Peterson (third from right) and Della Lyle (second from right) will compete at the D2 national championships.

After two standout regular outdoor track and field seasons, seniors Robert Peterson and Della Lyle are competing at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Bradenton, Fla. INDIANAPOLIS – Seniors Robert Peterson and Della Lyle from the MSU Billings track and field team have punched their tickets to the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Championships May 26-28, in Bradenton, Fla., hosted by the University of Tampa and IMG Academy.

Peterson was selected for the men’s 3,000 steeplechase while Lyle will compete in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Peterson is heading into the national race ranked ninth in the steeplechase with a time of 8:59.23. The Billings, Mont., native won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship title with that time for Peterson’s third individual conference crown. Peterson’s time is the fourth-fastest in GNAC history.

Lyle placed second at the GNAC Championships last week with a time of 10:29.08. The native of Buffalo, Wyo., was the runner-up behind Dani Eggleston from Central Washington who finished the race in 10:23.59. Lyle’s time is also the fourth-fastest in GNAC history. She is entering the national preliminary race ranked 11th in the nation.

“We’re really excited to again be headed to an NCAA National Championships, this time with two athletes,” MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. “Both Della and Robert will be running the steeplechase and are ranked high enough that they could slip into the top-8 for an All-American spot. The conditions in Florida will most likely be hot and humid, but both the preliminaries and finals will be around 7:30 p.m., so it might not be that bad. Plus, it’s the steeplechase and they have to hit the water jump on 7 laps, so they’ll stay cooled off. Della had also provisionally qualified in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and we entered her in the 5,000 since it worked out in the schedule. However, she just missed the final cut by 4 spots and just 4 seconds.”

Both Peterson and Lyle set MSUB school records in the steeplechase at the GNAC Championships last week. Peterson now holds MSUB outdoor records in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5,000 meters, and the 3,000 meter steeplechase. This is Peterson’s third trip to the NCAA national meet, but his first time competing in the outdoor championships. The senior competed at the 2015 and 2016 indoor championships in the men’s mile.

Lyle holds three MSUB outdoor records in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the 3,000 meter steeplechase. The transfer from the University of Redlands had one season of indoor and outdoor track and field eligibility remaining and this will be the first time the senior will be competing at a NCAA Division II national championships. The distance runner was named the 2016 GNAC Female Indoor Track and Field Newcomer of the Year.

“Both Robert and Della are going in healthy and I don’t think they’ve peaked yet this season,” Coppock continued. “We got off to a slow start in the outdoor season and have gradually built up to this point, so we’re in a really good place right now. For the next week or so, we’ll be doing some fine-tuning and hurdle work, and we should be ready to go next Thursday for the preliminaries. I know Robert and Della are excited to finish out their careers at the national championships and I couldn’t be happier for the both of them.”

The 5,000 meter steeplechase preliminaries will be contested on Thursday, May 26. The men’s race will begin at 5:25 p.m. Mountain time followed by the women’s race at 5:55 p.m.

Peterson and Lyle will need to finish in the top-9 spots to advance onto the finals which will be run on Friday, May 27 with the men’s race at 5:15 p.m. Mountain time followed by the women’s race at 5:30 p.m.

Bradenton is 45 miles south of Tampa along Florida’s west coast. The city is home to IMG Academy that boasts a 5,000 seat capacity stadium where the championships will be contested. For more information, please visit the NCAA championships page here.

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