ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the second straight year, Katie Stevens will represent the Christopher Newport track & field program at the NCAA Indoor Championships as the senior standout will compete for national supremacy in the weight throw during the title meet on March 14 at the Golisano Training Center in Rochester, New York.
Stevens enters the competition seeded 16th in the country after uncorking a 17.80-meter toss at the South Region Final Qualifier on Saturday. Not only did that effort punch her ticket to the national meet, but it also broke her own school record in the event and established a new standard in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference.
Making a return trip to the NCAA Championships, Stevens will take part in the weight throw at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. For those fans unable to attend the competition, live results and a video stream of the action will be available at NCAA.com.
Reinforcing her reputation as one of the top throwers in the country, Stevens has starred throughout the winter campaign. Dominating the weight throw, she won her third straight league title in the event after setting a new meet record with a 16.88-meter toss during the conference championships on February 21.
Along with her league crown, Stevens also won the weight throw at the Holiday Open, Betty Rogers Invitational, CNU Qualifier, and South Region Final Qualifier. In seven total appearances during the indoor season, she went undefeated against Division III competition in the event and finished third behind a pair of Division I throwers at both the Camel City Invitational and Patriot Games.
In addition to her work in the weight throw, Stevens also claimed her third consecutive conference title in the shot put. Aided by that performance, she was celebrated as the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Meet. Her season-best mark of 12.39 meters in that event was the longest toss by anyone in the league this year by over seven feet.
In her career, Stevens has now advanced to each of the past three NCAA Championships. She was a second-team All-American in the weight throw last year after finishing 12th in the field with a 17.39-meter toss at the indoor competition. Two months later, she returned to the national spotlight after securing a pair of bids to the outdoor meet.
At last year’s spring championships, the Cary, North Carolina native was a first-team All-American in the discus after placing fifth with a 46.58-meter toss. She also came in 18th in the hammer with a 47.50-meter launch.
With her fourth career bid to the NCAA Championships, Stevens placed her name alongside the greatest throwers in program history. Only former national champions Claudia Stanley and Rachael Clark made more appearances on the national stage in throwing events. Stanley was a seven-time selection in the shot put during her Hall of Fame career from 1984-87. Meanwhile, Clark made six trips in the shot put from 2006-08.
Stevens remains the only Captain to earn a spot at the national meet in the weight throw.
