FSU's Rudd & Ovokaitys Chosen To Race In National Championships In West Michigan

Click Here For NCAA Release

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of Ferris State University women's outdoor track and field student-athletes have been chosen to compete in the 2014 NCAA Division II National Outdoor Championships next week as the official selections have been announced by the NCAA.

The 2014 NCAA-II Championships will take place May 22-24 in Allendale on the campus of Grand Valley State University at the GVSU Track and Field Stadium. The national meet will be hosted by GVSU along with the West Michigan Sports Commission. 

Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event with the final selected participants chosen based on their performance marks.

Ferris State senior standout Anna Rudd (Leslie) will compete in a pair of events as she's been chosen to run in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Meanwhile, FSU junior Breeann Ovokaitys (Cedar Springs) was picked to race in the 1,500 meters at the national championships.

Rudd's top performance of 16:42.34 in the 5,000 meters ranks as the ninth-best of 22 slated competitors at the Division II level this season while her seed time of 35:41.64 is the 14th-fastest of the 21 individuals chosen to run in the 10,000 meters at the national meet. Ovokaitys holds the 21st-best clocking of 4:33.16 among 21 slated participants in the 1,500 meters.

Ovokaitys will open the meet for the Bulldogs on Thursday, May 22, in the preliminary round of the 1,500 meters at 5:25 p.m. (ET). Rudd will race for the first time later in the evening on the opening day at 8:50 p.m. (ET) in the 10,000 meters. Neither will compete on day two Friday, but both could be in action again as the meet closes on Saturday, May 24. The finals of the 1,500 meters are at 5:45 p.m. (ET) with Rudd also slated to race in the 5,000 meters at 8:30 p.m. (ET).

Both individuals previously earned All-America honors at the Division II National Indoor Championships held in March (14-15) in Winston-Salem, N.C. Rudd placed seventh overall in the 5K at the indoor nationals in a time of 17:14.19 to earn All-America honors for the second-straight year in the event. Ovokaitys was a member of FSU's distance medley relay team that claimed All-America honors with a seventh-place national meet finish this winter.

A year ago, Rudd claimed All-America honors by winning the national championship in the indoor 5,000 meters and she was also a first-team Capital One Academic All-American. In addition to winning the 5,000 meters at the indoor championships, she also finished as the runner-up in the 3,000 meters a year ago while claiming United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-America honors in both events. For her efforts, Rudd was named to the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region Team in three events (mile, 3,000 and 5,000) and also honored as last year's recipient of the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year honor for her accomplishments during the indoor campaign.

Previously this week, both Rudd and Ovokaitys were named to the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region squad for their accomplishments in outdoor track. Rudd earned the distinction in the 5,000 meters while Ovokaitys was an all-region pick in the 1,500 meters. Rudd placed third at the GLIAC Championships in the 5K while Ovokaitys was seventh in the 1,500 meters at the league outdoor meet.

The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee announced the participants for the 2014 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. Portions of the championships will be streamed live on www.NCAA.com.

For more information on the NCAA-II Championships, please visit this link:
http://www.primetimetiming.com/liveresults/2014/ncaa_outdoor/