LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Cowgirl multi-event athlete Grace McKenzie has qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the pentathlon as the field for the 2019 national championships was released late Tuesday night.
 
The meet will take place March 8-9 at the Birmingham Crossplex, the site of the recently completed Southland Conference Indoor Championships where McKenzie helped lead the Cowgirls to a fourth place team finish as she racked up a total of 23 of the team's 72 points in five events, including a third place finish in the high jump.
 
The senior, who holds the school and conference record in the pentathlon with 4,211 points scored earlier this year at the Samford Multi Meet, also held at the Birmingham Crossplex, made the decision to forego the pentathlon event at the SLC championships and entered in individual events instead to give her team a chance to win more points, which it did.
 
McKenzie is currently ranked eighth in the nation in the pentathlon, easily solidifying her qualification as one of the top 16 to receive the invite. She'll get her events started at 12:15 on March 8 with the running of the 60-meter hurdles.
 
Also for the McNeese track and field squad, Cowgirl thrower Alanna Arvie ended the indoor season ranked No. 75 in the nation in the weight throw with a mark of 63-feet, 6-inches that helped her win the gold medal at the SLC championships.
 
Cowboy sprinter Tyler Smith ended the season ranked 35^th in the country in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.68 which placed him fourth at the SLC championships.