INDIANAPOLIS -- Junior Emma Hertz of the University of Sioux Falls Track and Field Team will attend and compete at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Outdoor Championships on May 27-29 at Grand Valley State Track and Field Stadium in Allendale, Michigan.

On Tuesday afternoon, the NCAA released its declared entries and junior thrower Emma Hertz of Sioux Falls qualified in both the shot put (fourth nationally) and discus (seventh nationally) with top 10 marks in each. A psychology and coaching major, Hertz was also ranked 18^th in the hammer throw but did not qualify for nationals. 

"We are very excited for Emma (Hertz) to get the opportunity to go back to the NCAA DII Outdoor nationals after not being able to have the chance a year ago due to the pandemic," said USF Director of Track and Field Doug Petersen. "After last year when we had the national meet canceled right before we were to compete due to the pandemic, this is a great chance to show what she can do. Emma has had a great year and she will have an awesome experience at nationals," he said.

The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee announced the participants for the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships which includes a total of 566 participants, 283 men and 283 women. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event. The complete list of qualifiers is available at https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=2251. Heat sheets will be available at this same website by Monday, May 24

This spring, Hertz has set school records in the discus (175-10 – 53.60m) and the hammer throw (184-10 – 56.33m). She has three All-NSIC honors, four shot put titles, four discus titles and two hammer titles as well as 17 DII provisional marks in the three events. With three All-NSIC honors at the NSIC Outdoor Championship, she helped lead USF to seventh place in the women's team competition. 

Hertz, who prepped at Sioux Falls O'Gorman High School, has qualified for the outdoor nationals for the second time (2018-19). In the shot put, Hertz had a qualifying throw of 50-8 ¼-15.45m at the South Dakota Challenge on April 9. It is a mark which ranks seventh in DII and is just off her own school record of 51-05 in 2019. This spring she had six DII provisional marks and four titles in the shot put. As for the discus, she ranks fourth in DII with a qualifying and school record mark of 175-10 – 53.60m, which was made at the Wayne State Challenge on May 1. This spring she has seven DII provisional marks in the discus along with four individual titles.

In the hammer, she had four DII provisional marks including two throws over 180, both setting school records. On April 1, she tossed the hammer 180-9 – 55.10 to win a title and set the school record and then at the NSIC Outdoor Championships, she bettered the mark with a throw of 184-10 – 56.33m, which reset the school mark but was just short of qualifying for nationals.

Hertz, who earned two indoor All-American honors (shot put, weight throw) at the NCAA DII Indoor Nationals earlier this year, has twice won the NSIC Field Athlete of the Week honors as she now has four such honors in her career. A four-time All-American, she has 57 top-3 finishes in the throws. In the indoor/outdoor meets in 2021, she has a total of 22 titles with 32 top-three finishes. Hertz, who owns five USF school records in indoor and outdoor throwing events, will make her fifth appearance at either NCAA DII indoor or outdoor national championship competitions.