The men’s and women’s track and field took their talent to Naperville, Ill., last week for the NCAA D-III Indoor Championships and will have a long break until their next meet at the Hamline Invitational on April 6.

Sophomore athlete Derrick Mora said preparing for nationals is about staying focused and working hard through practice. His goal as a competitor is to one day finish first in the long jump.

“I would love to get first in long jump one of these years. I think next year there’s a really good chance as long as I stay healthy,” he said.

Prior to nationals, Mora competed at the regionals and earned third place in the long jump.

“It was good and at the same time kind of frustrating,” Mora said.

He said he felt they didn’t finish as strong as they were capable of finishing.

“There were definitely a few things that we could have [done] better, maybe doing some stuff in training that we didn’t do as much this year as we did last year,” he said.

However, Mora did acknowledge the team has accomplished some great things at the regionals.

“Overall, I feel good about our performance,” he said.

Last week at the nationals, the women’s track and field put on a show. Both sophomore Shawny Kramer and senior Becky Culp earned All-American honors, with their impressive performance at the meet.

Kramer threw her career best at the weight throw with a 57-9, which is the seventh best throw by any athlete in Division-III this year, and earned fifth place in the weight throw at nationals.

Culp received her third All-American honor after recording a 46-0.50 in the shot put, which placed fifth at the nationals. That was Culp’s second personal best behind her 47’3.5 effort that she did prior to this meet at the MIAC Indoor Championships.

Both performances were crucial to the Pipers at the NCAA D-III Indoor Championships, as they tied for 23rd place at the meet.

The men’s and women’s track and field don’t have another meet until next month. However, their season is a long way from over, and they will continue to train to prepare for the next part of their schedule.

“It’s mainly about staying focused. Even after you do conference, you still need to do the little things because those little things are going to help you. Every day in practice you got to work hard,” Mora said.

The next meet for the men’s and women’s track and field will be the Hamline Invitational on April 6. Last year at Klas Field, the Pipers had some success. The Pipers won a total of five events. The men’s won three as the women’s won two along with several other strong finishes.