INDIANAPOLIS – Five student-athletes will represent North Carolina Central University during its first appearance at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Championship Competition on May 24-26.

As qualifiers in the East region, NCCU’s five representatives – senior Nealie Whitt, junior Willie Calvin, junior Phillip Barren, junior Jasmine Wanamaker and sophomore Sararesa Hudson - will compete at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.

“We’re back,” NCCU track and field head coach Michael Lawson said with excitement, referring to the team’s first trip to the NCAA championship meet since starting the transition to Division I back in 2007. “It means a lot to be back on the national scene. We strive to keep the university on a national level.”

Calvin, a native of Greenville, Miss., posted the 22nd-best high jump of the Division I East region outdoor season with a leap of 2.15 meters (7’ 0.5”) at the Pepsi Florida Relays. He won the MEAC high jump championship during the indoor campaign and then claimed all-conference honors at the outdoor MEAC event during the first week of May.

Wanamaker enters the regional event ranked 33rd in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.59 seconds, which earned the Philadelphia, Pa., native a silver medal at the MEAC outdoor championships.

Whitt, the 2012 MEAC discus throw champion and meet record holder from Roxboro, N.C., improved upon his gold-medal winning toss the following week at the Aggie Classic in Greensboro, N.C., on May 13 by posting a career-best distance of 52.66m (172’ 9”) to rank 36th in the East region.

Barren, a native of Raleigh, N.C., notched the 39th-fastest time in the 200m dash with a career-best mark of 21.12 during the last-chance Aggie Classic meet.

Hudson, representing her hometown of Burgaw, N.C., qualified for the regional championship with the 40th-best time in the 400m hurdles, finishing the finals of the MEAC championship in 59.84.

Whitt will be the first Eagle in action with the discus throw on Thursday at 1 p.m., followed by Hudson in the 400m hurdles at 5 p.m. On Friday, Wanamaker will run the 100m hurdles at 5:30 p.m., followed by Barren in the 200m dash at 8 p.m. Calvin will wait until Saturday at 5 p.m. to compete in the high jump.

“This will be a winning situation for NCCU regardless of the individual results because of the exposure for the track and field program and the university,” Lawson said.

For complete information about the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Championship Competition, visit http://www.rtspt.com/ncaa/d1outdoor12.