Ferris State's Cody Stilwell and Katie Etelamaki Chosen To Compete In NCAA D2 National Track Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of Ferris State University student-athletes, senior thrower Cody Stilwell (Cadillac) and junior Katie Etelamaki (Ishpeming/Westwood), have been selected to compete in the 2019 NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Stilwell was selected to take part in this year's national outdoor championships set for May 23-25 in Kingsville, Texas, in the men's weight throw while Etelamaki was chosen to compete in the women's 10,000 meters. This year's national championships will be held at Javelin Stadium on the campus to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The men's hammer throw will take place on day one (Thursday) beginning at 4:30 p.m. (CT) with the women's 10,000 meters slated for the same day at 9:55 p.m. (CT).

FSU's Stilwell is one of 24 throwers slated to take part in the hammer throw and his top performance of 60.06 meters is 19th-best heading into the competition. Meanwhile, Etelamaki will be among 20 participants competing in the 10,000 meters and holds the 17th-best preliminary time (35:43.80) entering the national championships.

This year will represent Stilwell's third consecutive trip to the D2 National Outdoor Championships while Etelamaki will be competing for the first time.

The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee has announced the participants for the 2019 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. A total of 754 participants, 377 men and 377 women, will compete in the championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

This outdoor season, Etelamaki claimed the GLIAC Championship in the 10,000 meters by reaching the national provisional qualifying time in action on May 2 in Allendale. Stilwell finished fifth in a highly-competitive throwing field in the hammer at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships where he also topped the national qualifying mark.

Previously, Stilwell earned All-America honors for the second time in his collegiate career at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kan. Stilwell, who was one of 18 throwers in the men's weight throw, placed eighth overall in the event at the Robert W. Plaster Center. He tossed a season-best throw of 20.25 meters (66-5 1/4") to garner All-America accolades and become the first FSU male thrower to earn indoor All-America recognition since former national champion Paul Cochran in the shot put in 1990. Additionally, Stilwell is the first-ever Bulldog male to earn All-America honors in the men's weight throw.

This season, Stilwell led the Bulldogs with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw (63-6.25) at the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Championships. Stilwell was an All-GLIAC honoree in both men's indoor and outdoor track and a GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team selection as a junior last season.

Etelamaki took fourth place in the 5,000 meters (17:33.88) and was sixth in the 3,000 meters (10:08.12) at the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships this year. Etelamaki also was a provisional qualifier for the D2 National Indoor Championships and is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree.

A biology major with a perfect grade point average, Etelamaki is a two-time All-GLIAC Cross Country recipient and earned Division II Cross Country All-America accolades for the first time in her collegiate career by placing 16th overall as an individual qualifier for the 2018 National Championships last fall. She finished the fall cross country season with eight top-20 meet finishes in eight races and has ranked among the region's top distance standouts both in cross country and track throughout her career. Etelamaki is a six-time All-GLIAC Track and Field honoree and has been both an all-conference and all-region choice.

Both Stilwell and Etelamaki were both recognized as GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipients following the indoor season earlier this year.

The NCAA Division II National Championships will be streamed live on www.NCAA.com each day.