Tabor News
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Senior Kelli Kopper is one of 12 Bluejays that will compete at the National Track and Field Championships
Women's Outdoor Track & Field - Wed, May 19, 2010
     

HILLSBORO, Kan. - As the dust settles on the 2010 outdoor track season, 12 Tabor College track and field athletes have qualified for the NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University at the Outdoor Sports Complex in Marion, Ind. May 27-29.

 
"The group I am taking to nationals is a very talented one and just a really fun group of athletes to be around," said Head Track and Field Coach Dave Kroeker. "We have several seniors who are ending their track careers at the NAIA National Outdoor Championships next week. We also have a number of underclassmen, several of which are going for the first time. I am looking forward to great competition and really good results from our athletes in Indiana."
   
Tabor qualifiers for the National meet include seniors Kelli Kopper (Cimarron, Kan.) in the 400 meters, Christina Addison (Valley Center, Kan.) in the marathon, Chelsea Malone (Ellinwood, Kan.) in the javelin and Tasia Johnson (Dallas, Texas) in the long jump, triple jump, and the 100 meters.
   
Other Lady Jay qualifiers include sophomore Samantha VanRanken (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) in the javelin, and freshmen Emily Post (Wray, Colo.) in the triple jump and Tynan Honn (Buhler, Kan.) in the shot put. Post also qualified for the National indoor meet this past March.
   
Freshman Ryan Chippeaux (Wichita, Kan.) who qualified in the high jump will be the lone male representative for the Bluejays at the National meet.
   
The Lady Jays 4 x 100 meter and 4 x 400 meter relay teams also earned qualifying marks for the National Meet. Members of the 4 x 100 meter relay team include Kopper, Johnson, seniors Andrea Batista (Hagerman, N.M.), Jessica Burden (Little Elm, Texas), and sophomore Kayla Gershon (Littleton, Colo.). Members of the 4 x 400 meter relay team include Johnson, Kopper, Batista, Burden, and junior Tessa Siebert (Henderson, Neb.).
 

This will be the first National meet for Malone, VanRanken, Honn, Siebert, and Chippeaux, while Kopper, Johnson, Addison, Burden, Batista, and Gershon are all making return trips to the meet.