Feb. 22—Taylor Gish (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) made the long trip to northern Indiana well worth his while on Saturday as the junior won the 35 pound weight throw competition at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Indoor Track & Field Meet. The winning throw earned Gish a new school record, NCCAA All-American status and a provisional mark that could qualify him for the NCAA championship event in March.

Gish and Indiana Wesleyan University's James Schortgen traded spots between first and second places throughout their three throws. After his second throw of the day, Schortgen moved into first place with a toss of 16.33 meters before Gish's second toss landed at 16.7 meters to put Northwestern's all-American back on top. Schortgen temporarily claimed first yet again with a throw of 16.9 meters before Gish put the event out of reach with a mark of 17.17 on his last throw to win.

Gish's final toss put landed him in the provisional qualifying list for the NCAA national meet on March 12-13 in Columbus, Ohio. Following the list of competitors across America who have earned an automatic trip to the NCAA meet at Capitol University (automatic qualifying distance is 18.75 meters), those on the provisional list will receive an invitation to the meet based on their longest throw. Between the automatic and provisional distances, 16 participants will qualify for the national meet. Qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships concludes on March 5.

Gish wasn't the only Eagle to participate in the NCCAA national meet, as freshman Alyssa Temte (Apple Valley, Minn./Rosemount) participated in the 60-meter hurdles and triple jump events. Temte ran a time of 10.00 flat in the hurdles race before taking fifth place in the triple jump with a final distance of 10.79 meters. Temte's hurdles mark did not qualify for the finals.