AUBURN, Ala.—Auburn sophomores Joyce Kimeli and Madi Malone have both qualified for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, to be held March 13-14 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M. Kimeli will race in the women's 5000m, while Malone will throw in the women's weight throw for the second consecutive year.
"If you make that cut to compete in the national championships, you're a pretty special athlete in the nation," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. They take the top 16 from each event, so it says a lot about the accomplishments of Joyce and Madi."
Kimeli will be competing in her first NCAA Indoor Championship after racing at the NCAA Outdoors last June. A three-time SEC Indoor silver medalist, Kimeli's sophomore season has been stellar as she has broken the Auburn indoor records in the mile, 3000m and 5000m. This past weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships, Kimeli was a runner up at 3000m and finished fifth in the 5k. An All-American outdoors in 2019, Kimeli is currently ranked No. 9 nationally at 5000m.
"Joyce is just a competitor. She's probably 35-40 seconds ahead of where she was last year. She's got a lot of confidence right now," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "She's gotten so much better and you've seen it in the indoor season. If she has a good race she can be anywhere from the top five or six to winning it all."
Malone, who finished eighth at the 2019 NCAA Indoors as a freshman, was fourth this past weekend at SEC Indoors in the weight throw and has two golds and three silvers in five other competitions this winter. The school record holder in the event and ranked No. 14 nationally this season, Malone posted six of the 10 best weight throws in school history this season.
"Things are going well and hopefully a couple weeks from now when Madi goes to nationals she can peak and have her best performance," Spry said. "She's had some minor injuries that has slowed her down a little bit. She really is a fierce competitor. She was an All-American last year, so she knows what it takes. She knows the environment and what it takes to be successful. I think in regards to what we'll do going in, she'll be very competitive at the championships."
Kimeli's 5000m race will be contested on Friday, March 13 at 8:55 p.m. CT (7:55 p.m. MT), while Malone will compete in the women's hammer throw on Saturday, March 14 at 5:40 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. MT).