Five DePaul record-holders from both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed this weekend at the NCAA West Preliminary in Eugene, Ore. Alanna Kovacs, Tim Nedow and Mary Cate Quiett were all able to advance to the 2011 NCAA Championships, taking place on June 10-13 at Des Moines, Iowa.

Kovacs competed in the women’s javelin on Thursday, where she placed fourth with a throw of 50.42m. Kovacs at one point in the season held an NCAA-best javelin throw of 54.88m, a record she achieved at the DePaul Division I Invitational on April 16. This will be Kovacs’ second year in a row competing in the NCAA championships.

Melissa Fraser also competed in women’s javelin, just missing the finals finishing in 17th place with a toss of 46.58m. Fraser also competed in the hammer throw at the NCAA West Preliminaries where she finished in 32nd place with a throw of 53.72m.

The third athlete representing the women’s team was Mary Cate Quiett, who ran in the 800m. Her first time of 2:07:08 was good for 23rd place and a spot in the quarterfinals, where she ran a season best time of 2:06.175 to put her in ninth place.

The men’s track and field sent two representatives to Eugene. Tim Nedow finished in 10th place in the men’s shot put, with a distance of 17.80m. Nedow’s strong performance allowed him to move on to the NCAA championships for a second consecutive year. On the last day of competition Nedow picked up a second event for the NCAA championships, finishing ninth place with a toss of 55.01m in men’s discus.

His success in discuss is nothing new though. Earlier this year Nedow broke the DePaul record for discuss with a toss of 55.46 m.

Matthew Graham meanwhile competed in the 3,000m steeplechase. While Graham will not be joining his teammates at the NCAA championships he did finish in 19th place with a time of 9:00.88, up one spot from last year’s NCAA West Preliminary.