Story by UNK Athletic Communications
Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney track and field team has qualified two women and three men for the 2025 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships May 22-24 in Pueblo, Colo.
Based on times and marks achieved throughout the spring, the top 22 in each individual event and the top 16 relays qualified; tiebreakers were used when needed.
Heading to Colorado are Kearney redshirt junior Lily Novacek (1st/hammer), Omaha junior Nick Abdalla (21st/steeplechase), Kansas junior Kenyon Forest (8th/javelin), Hastings sophomore Nolan Studley (4th/high jump) and Gothenburg freshman Madison Smith (7th/discus).
Novacek is in her fourth national meet (one indoor and three outdoor) and aiming to repeat her first-team All-American performance (8th in the weight throw) from this year's indoor championships. She leads D2 in the hammer by 10 feet and hopes to be UNK's sixth AA in the hammer; places one through eight in any event are good for first-team honors with nine through 12 named second-team AA's. Next, Studley returns to this meet after placing 10th last spring. He leaped a career-best 7-1 at the Concordia Invite in early April, cleared 7-0.50 at the Central Nebraska Challenge and recently went 6-8.25 at the Loper Twilight.
Forest also is a two-time NCAA qualifier as he finished 18th in the jav last spring. He had the second-best toss in school history (226-5) at the Loper Invite in mid-April to punch his ticket and had a heave of 214-9 at Concordia. Finally, both Abdulla and Smith are first-time NCAA track qualifiers. Abdalla, who ran at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships, reached Pueblo thanks to a great race at a California Last Chance meet with Smith throwing the discus 164-9 at Wichita State in April. She also won the MIAA title this year with an effort of 156-0.
Fans can follow along with live video and live results.
Many Lopers ranked 23rd-40th in their respective event and were thus close to qualifying. That group included Novacek (discus), Lexington freshman Will Kulhanek (400 hurdles), McCool Junction freshman Kassidy Stuckey (1,500), David City senior Payton Davis (1,500), York junior Brynn Hirschfeld (steeple), Kansas sophomore Tasia Sadler (high jump) and Kansans Wyatt Hammond and Rylan Basart in the javelin.
Thursday, May 22nd
1:30 p.m. (Central) – Women's hammer (Lily Novacek, Kearney H.S.)
Friday, May 23rd
3 p.m. (Central) – Women's discus (Madison Smith, Gothenburg H.S.)
8:30 p.m. (Central) Men's Steeplechase (Nick Abdalla, Omaha South H.S.)
Saturday, May 24th
3:45 p.m. (Central) – Men's Javelin (Kenyon Forest, Norton H.S.)
5:45 p.m. (Central) – Men's High Jump (Nolan Studley, Hastings H.S.)