Junior Conor Kolka qualifies for NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships
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SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg junior Conor Kolka (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) has qualified for the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the NCAA announced on Friday night.
Kolka qualified for the national meet in the 10,000 meters with a school-record time of 29:42.25 that he recorded at the WashU Distance Carnival on March 28. That time broke the prior school record of 30:07.18, which he set in 2023. He enters the national meet as the No. 15 seed in the 10,000.
The top 22 declared student-athletes in each individual event and the top 16 declared relay teams qualify for the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for May 23-25 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The men's 10,000 meters is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, at 9:15 p.m. To follow the live results, click here.
Kolka's first career appearance at the NCAA Track and Field Championships will cap off a highly successful year that began with a record-setting cross country season. After winning the North Coast Athletic Conference championship and being named the NCAC Runner of the Year in cross country, he broke his own 8K school record with a time of 23:58 for a fourth-place finish at the Great Lakes Region Championships. He earned All-Region honors and qualified for the NCAA Championships where he placed 145th of 294 runners.
Kolka went on to win the NCAC title in the 3,000 and earn All-NCAC honors in the 5,000 during the indoor track and field season and was a two-time NCAC Athlete of the Week and NCAC champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 en route to being named NCAC Distance Runner of the Year during the outdoor season.
After winning the NCAC championship during the indoor season, the Wittenberg men's track and field team posted a second-place finish at the NCAC Outdoor Championships this season under head coach Paris Hilliard.