After a strong weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary in Tampa, Florida, three members of the NC State track and field team will head to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon from June 6-9.

Long-distance runners redshirt senior Erica Kemp and sophomore Elly Henes, along with redshirt junior thrower Lauren Evans punched their tickets to the national meet, with Henes and Kemp qualifying in the 5,000-meter run and Evans in the shot put.

Evans finished ninth in the shot put on the opening day of prelims, a top-12 finish that will send her to NCAAs for the first time in her career. Evans launched a personal-best throw of 53’ 10.25”, the second-longest in school history, to send herself to the season’s premiere meet.

Henes won the 5,000m at ACCs and finished second in her heat with a time of 16:15.24 to automatically clinch a trip to Eugene. Henes will compete in the 5,000m at NCAAs alongside her teammate Kemp, who paced all runners in the event at prelims.

Kemp won her heat to book her spot at NCAAs with a time of 16:06.17, which was six seconds faster than any other runner in the field. This will be Kemp’s third and final trip to the NCAA Championships.

While only Henes, Kemp and Evans will continue their seasons at NCAAs, other members of the Pack finished strong at prelims. Junior Gabriele Cunningham competed in both the 100- and 200-meter runs, reaching the quarterfinals in both.