Nina Schultz, Terrell Smith Ready for NCAA Indoor Championships

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State Track and Field team will be represented by an NCAA-leader and a school record holder at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 9-10, as sophomore Nina Schultz and senior Terrell Smith look to cap off noteworthy indoor campaigns with a shot at national glory at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.

Smith, a senior out of Vicksburg, Mississippi, makes his first NCAA indoor appearance after a season that he broke his school record in the 200-meters on two separate occasions. Coming into the weekend, Smith's school-record stands at 20.86, but he has another goal for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

"To make it to nationals and to make sure I'm an All-American is a great achievement," Smith said. "I'm excited to be an All-American and hopefully I can make it to the top eight to get a medal. That's what I'm rooting for, top eight…stand on the podium one time, wave at my friends and family. I'm just excited to even experience, knowing that a lot of people wish they could be in my shoes.

Smith enters the competition with a seed time of 20.65 which was converted (flat track) from the DeLoss Dodds Invitational on February 2. His time ranked him 12^th in the NCAA this season, in a highly competitive field. Smith will get his first opportunity on the track at 7:35 p.m. on Friday in the men's 200-meter semifinals.

For Schultz, she enters the NCAA Indoor Championship with the top score in the women's pentathlon, after scoring the seventh-best point total in NCAA history of 4,502 at the Texas Tech Shootout on February 9. Schultz's exceptional effort came behind several noteworthy performances, including a NCAA-qualifying jump of 6.39m/20-11.75 in the women's long jump. Schultz earned Big 12 Athlete of the Week recognition for her performance on February 14. Along with her NCAA-leading pentathlon score, Schultz enters the weekend with the 11^th best long jump in the NCAA of 6.39m/20-11.75.

"Conference and nationals always feel a little bit different," Schultz said. "The weeks leading up to a big competition, you can feel yourself getting more hyped up, even in practice. It's a good buildup into the meet."

Schultz will see her first competition in the pentathlon on Friday, where she will compete in the 60-meter hurdles beginning at 12:15 p.m. The pentathlon competition will later conclude at 5:30 p.m. following the finish of the women's pentathlon 800 meters. Schultz will then compete in the women's long jump competition at 7:10 p.m.

For more information on the NCAA Indoor Championships, including ticket information, a full schedule of events and more, click here. The NCAA Indoor Championships will stream live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, which can be found here. Live results will also be available and can be found here.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

Nina Schultz, Terrell Smith Ready for NCAA Indoor Championships

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Nina Schultz

Terrell Smith

Kansas State University Athletics