INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – On the heels of strong performances this season, UW-Superior men's track and field standouts Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) and Gage Stankiewicz (Esko, Minn./Esko) have qualified for the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, it was announced Sunday.
 
Stankiewicz will be competing in the indoor championships for the second time in his career at UW-Superior, while Lynch is making his first trip to the national meet. The 2023 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. next weekend.
 
"I'm really proud of these guys and this team on this accomplishment. It's incredibly difficult to get into the NCAA championship field, and to be in the top 20 in the nation in any event is really hard," said Yellowjacket head track and field coach Glen Drexler. "The fact that these guys pulled it off - Gage making his second trip and Garrett his first, and with both being sophomores, is really special."
 
Stankiewicz qualified for the indoor championships as a freshman in 2022. His qualifying mark in the shot put was 16.07 meters a year ago, and this year he enters the competition with a qualifying mark slightly under that, at 16.01 meters. The mark, which ranks him 20th in NCAA Division III, was established at the Warren Bowlus Open at UW-Stout Jan. 28.

"Gage is coming off a recent injury and is looking to continue his return to mid-season form," Drexler said. "He has the capacity to move up on his current ranking, and making the finals will be something that he is very capable of. If he's feeling like himself, it could be a very good possibility."
 
Lynch, meanwhile, is riding his strongest performance of the year in the heptathlon into the NCAA championships. Last weekend at the Ripon NCAA Final Qualifier, Lynch posted a point total of 4,788 points, which established a new school record. In the process, Lynch set new personal records in six-of-seven heptathlon events. Lynch enters the championships seeded No. 18 in all of NCAA Division III.
 
"For Garrett to have hit his qualifying mark in only his second-ever heptathlon, it speaks volumes to just how talented he is," Drexler said. "This will be a great opportunity for him to get a feel for the level of effort and intensity it takes to be an All-American. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he puts together this weekend."
 
Stankiewicz and Lynch are the 10th and 11th Yellowjacket student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships during Drexler's time as head coach.