Chicago, Ill. - Heading into his first year of competition, freshman sprinter Carson Owens of Men's Track & Field had a goal of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Late Sunday night, that goal became a reality when the NCAA released the names of the qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. Owens qualified in the men's 400 meters event.

"It feels truly amazing," said Owens. "A goal I set out to accomplish since the start of the year."

Owens, along with 19 other men's top qualifiers in Division III 400 meters competition, will be competing at the NCAA Division III Men's Track and Field Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday, March 13^th and 14th, in Birmingham, Alabama. Owens qualified for the men's 400 meters event, with a banked-track converted qualifying time of 48.01 (48.77 non-banked time). To qualify for nationals, the top 20 declared student-athlete performers in an event earn an invitation to the championships. 

Owen's qualifying time came in the 400 meter finals of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 28th, an event in which Owens took home a 1st place medal.

Head Track & Field Coach Tyler McQuality knew he had a special student-athlete when Owens committed to Illinois Tech, and Owens qualifying in his first season of competition did not surprise him.

"I am extremely proud of Carson for qualifying to the Indoor National Championships as a freshman," said McQuality. "It not only shows his tremendous talent, but his work ethic to transition from high school to one of the best at the Division III level. This weekend is going to be an extraordinary experience for him that he will be able to use in all of the national meets to come as well"

Assistant Coach - Sprints, Brendan Batliner, was impressed with how Owens has been handling his freshman season, both on the track and in the classroom. 

"Carson's dedication will take him far," said Batliner. "Freshman year is a time of adaptation for almost every athlete. While adjusting to the workload of our famous architecture program, Carson has demonstrated a willingness to grow both in the classroom and on the track. His teammates and I value his dedication and willingness to share his experience to level up those around him. We're so proud and excited to see him compete at the national level!"

Owens, who's parents and grandmother live abroad, is also excited that his family will still be able to watch him compete on the national stage.

"It means a lot especially having family in different places with even my parents and grandmother overseas, and having them be able to watch me run regardless of where they're at means a lot to me" Owens said.

The first round of the men's 400 meters is scheduled to run on Friday, March 13th, at 3:25pm CT (watch here), with the finals scheduled for Saturday, March 14th, at 4:35pm CT (watch here).