Friday, March 8
Pittsburg, KS
3:25 PM
Millersville University
at
NCAA Indoor Championships
Greene going for repeat at NCAA Division II Championships
3/6/2019 2:53:00 PM | Women's Indoor Track and Field
PITTSBURG, Kan. - One year after her historic national championship win in the shot put, Millersville University senior Sunflower Greene returns to Pittsburg, Kan., and the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in search of not just a repeat performance in the shot put, but also a top finish in the weight throw.
Greene's weight throw competition starts Friday, March 8 at 3:25 p.m. EST. The shot put is set for Saturday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m. EST. Greene will be the third thrower in the second flight of the weight throw and fifth in the second flight of the shot put.
SUNFLOWER'S JOURNEY
• Sunflower Greene is coming off of a PSAC Championships overall meet MVP award, winning both the weight throw and shot put with meet record marks. Greene, the first PSAC athlete to win both events at the same championship, has pulled off that feat twice.
• Greene has competed in the shot put and weight throw in six meets this indoor season and took first place all but once. She was the runner-up--but top collegiate finisher--at the Division I and club-heavy Fastrack National Invitational in New York. There she hit 52-6 in the shot put, and that stands as her season-best to date, ranking her third in Division II. Greene also entered the 2018 national championships seeded third. Ashland's star freshman Lindsay Baker is the No. 1 seed at 54-10 3/4. Central Missouri's Ashland Burton is seeded second, only 1/2 inch past Greene's season best. Baker recorded her seed distance in the season-opening meet. She most recently hit 51-4 1/4 for first place at the GLIAC Championships.
• Greene enters the weight throw in the No. 4 seed with a season-best of 64-10 1/2. While Greene's career best in the shot put came a year ago, she has improved significantly in the weight throw. She set a career-best mark at 63-7 in the season-opening Diplomat Open and then posted her current best on Jan. 18 at the NYC Gotham Cup. She is coming off a 63-11 1/2 at the PSAC Championships. A pair of Indianapolis athletes--Katie Monk (67-5 1/2) and Hilary Paxson (66-8 3/4) are the favorites. Paxson won the GLVC Championships while Monk was the runner-up.
• Only 20 athletes qualified in shot put and 17 qualified in the weight throw. Greene is the only PSAC athlete in either event. She is also one of three athletes competing in both events. Greene and Monk are the only athletes ranked in the top eight in both events. Greene will see some familiar faces in both events. Monk placed ninth in both events last season. Destiny Mack-Talalemotu (San Francisco State) was All-America in both events. Jena Black of Pittsburg State placed eighth in the shot put.
• The most recent USTFCCCA National Ratings Index have Millersville ranked No. 18 in Division II--solely because of Greene. Her current national rankings have her projected to score 30 points at the championships.
HISTORY
• In 2018, Greene hit a career-best 53-4 1/4 on her second attempt and that mark stood up through the finals to become the first Millersville track and field national champion and the first individual national champ of any kind at Millersville since 1982.
• This is Greene's third trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Greene is already a four-time All-American in the shot put, placing seventh at the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, fourth at the 2017 outdoor championships, first at the 2018 indoor championships and second at the 2018 outdoor championships. This is the second time she has qualified in the weight throw. Last year, she entered as the No. 8 seed and finished 15th.
• Greene is the only Marauder thrower to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships two or more times and the first to qualify for two events in the same season (she has done it twice). She and Priscilla Jennings as the only Marauders to compete at the indoor championships two or more times.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Shot Put
1. Lindsay Baker, Ashland, 54-10 3/4
2. Ashland Burton, Central Missouri, 52-6 1/2
3. Sunflower Greene, Millersville, 52-6
4. Desirea Buerge, Missouri Southern, 52-1 1/4
5. Katie Monk, Indianapolis, 51-7
6. Nicole Berry, Tiffin, 51-3 3/4
7. Payton Roberts, Missouri Southern, 51-3
8. Zada Swoopes, West Texas A&M, 50-8
Weight Throw
1. Katie Monk, Indianapolis, 67-5 1/2
2. Hilary Paxson, Indianapolis, 66-8 3/4
3. Natalie Helenthal, Ashland, 65-2 3/4
4. Sunflower Greene, Millersville, 64-10 1/2
5. Ashton Hallsted, Chadron State, 64-8 1/2
6. Bobbie Goodwin, Grand Valley State, 64-1 1/4
7. Rachael Somoye, Texas A&M Kingsville, 63-4 3/4
8. Katie Taylor, Minnesota State, 63-2
GREENE'S 2018-19 EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 23, 2019
Shot Put: 52-1 3/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 63-11 1/2 (1st)
Fastrack National Invite, Feb. 8, 2019
Shot Put: 52-6 (2nd) | Weight Throw: 61-5 (1st)
21st Annual Bison Open, Jan. 25-26, 2019
Shot Put: 50-1 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 61-1 1/4 (1st)
NYC Gotham Cup, Jan. 18, 2019
Shot Put: 51-1 (1st) | Weight Throw: 64-10 1/2 (1st)
Coach I Open @ Franklin & Marshall , Jan. 12, 2019
Shot Put: 51-4 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 60-10 1/2 (1st)
Diplomat Open, Dec 1, 2018
Shot Put: 52-5 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 63-7 (1st)
RECORDS SET IN 2018-19
• Millersville/PSAC weight throw (64-10 1/2)
• PSAC Indoor Championships weight throw meet record (63-11 1/2)
• PSAC Indoor Championships shot put meet record (52-1 3/4)
2018-19 INDOOR AWARDS
• PSAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week (3X)
• PSAC Indoor Championships Overall Meet MVP
• PSAC shot put champion
• PSAC weight throw champion
• USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year
• USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region
Greene's weight throw competition starts Friday, March 8 at 3:25 p.m. EST. The shot put is set for Saturday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m. EST. Greene will be the third thrower in the second flight of the weight throw and fifth in the second flight of the shot put.
SUNFLOWER'S JOURNEY
• Sunflower Greene is coming off of a PSAC Championships overall meet MVP award, winning both the weight throw and shot put with meet record marks. Greene, the first PSAC athlete to win both events at the same championship, has pulled off that feat twice.
• Greene has competed in the shot put and weight throw in six meets this indoor season and took first place all but once. She was the runner-up--but top collegiate finisher--at the Division I and club-heavy Fastrack National Invitational in New York. There she hit 52-6 in the shot put, and that stands as her season-best to date, ranking her third in Division II. Greene also entered the 2018 national championships seeded third. Ashland's star freshman Lindsay Baker is the No. 1 seed at 54-10 3/4. Central Missouri's Ashland Burton is seeded second, only 1/2 inch past Greene's season best. Baker recorded her seed distance in the season-opening meet. She most recently hit 51-4 1/4 for first place at the GLIAC Championships.
• Greene enters the weight throw in the No. 4 seed with a season-best of 64-10 1/2. While Greene's career best in the shot put came a year ago, she has improved significantly in the weight throw. She set a career-best mark at 63-7 in the season-opening Diplomat Open and then posted her current best on Jan. 18 at the NYC Gotham Cup. She is coming off a 63-11 1/2 at the PSAC Championships. A pair of Indianapolis athletes--Katie Monk (67-5 1/2) and Hilary Paxson (66-8 3/4) are the favorites. Paxson won the GLVC Championships while Monk was the runner-up.
• Only 20 athletes qualified in shot put and 17 qualified in the weight throw. Greene is the only PSAC athlete in either event. She is also one of three athletes competing in both events. Greene and Monk are the only athletes ranked in the top eight in both events. Greene will see some familiar faces in both events. Monk placed ninth in both events last season. Destiny Mack-Talalemotu (San Francisco State) was All-America in both events. Jena Black of Pittsburg State placed eighth in the shot put.
• The most recent USTFCCCA National Ratings Index have Millersville ranked No. 18 in Division II--solely because of Greene. Her current national rankings have her projected to score 30 points at the championships.
HISTORY
• In 2018, Greene hit a career-best 53-4 1/4 on her second attempt and that mark stood up through the finals to become the first Millersville track and field national champion and the first individual national champ of any kind at Millersville since 1982.
• This is Greene's third trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Greene is already a four-time All-American in the shot put, placing seventh at the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, fourth at the 2017 outdoor championships, first at the 2018 indoor championships and second at the 2018 outdoor championships. This is the second time she has qualified in the weight throw. Last year, she entered as the No. 8 seed and finished 15th.
• Greene is the only Marauder thrower to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships two or more times and the first to qualify for two events in the same season (she has done it twice). She and Priscilla Jennings as the only Marauders to compete at the indoor championships two or more times.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Shot Put
1. Lindsay Baker, Ashland, 54-10 3/4
2. Ashland Burton, Central Missouri, 52-6 1/2
3. Sunflower Greene, Millersville, 52-6
4. Desirea Buerge, Missouri Southern, 52-1 1/4
5. Katie Monk, Indianapolis, 51-7
6. Nicole Berry, Tiffin, 51-3 3/4
7. Payton Roberts, Missouri Southern, 51-3
8. Zada Swoopes, West Texas A&M, 50-8
Weight Throw
1. Katie Monk, Indianapolis, 67-5 1/2
2. Hilary Paxson, Indianapolis, 66-8 3/4
3. Natalie Helenthal, Ashland, 65-2 3/4
4. Sunflower Greene, Millersville, 64-10 1/2
5. Ashton Hallsted, Chadron State, 64-8 1/2
6. Bobbie Goodwin, Grand Valley State, 64-1 1/4
7. Rachael Somoye, Texas A&M Kingsville, 63-4 3/4
8. Katie Taylor, Minnesota State, 63-2
GREENE'S 2018-19 EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 23, 2019
Shot Put: 52-1 3/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 63-11 1/2 (1st)
Fastrack National Invite, Feb. 8, 2019
Shot Put: 52-6 (2nd) | Weight Throw: 61-5 (1st)
21st Annual Bison Open, Jan. 25-26, 2019
Shot Put: 50-1 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 61-1 1/4 (1st)
NYC Gotham Cup, Jan. 18, 2019
Shot Put: 51-1 (1st) | Weight Throw: 64-10 1/2 (1st)
Coach I Open @ Franklin & Marshall , Jan. 12, 2019
Shot Put: 51-4 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 60-10 1/2 (1st)
Diplomat Open, Dec 1, 2018
Shot Put: 52-5 1/4 (1st) | Weight Throw: 63-7 (1st)
RECORDS SET IN 2018-19
• Millersville/PSAC weight throw (64-10 1/2)
• PSAC Indoor Championships weight throw meet record (63-11 1/2)
• PSAC Indoor Championships shot put meet record (52-1 3/4)
2018-19 INDOOR AWARDS
• PSAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week (3X)
• PSAC Indoor Championships Overall Meet MVP
• PSAC shot put champion
• PSAC weight throw champion
• USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year
• USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Indoor Track and Field3x PSAC Champ Hannah Woelfling and Coach B talk about the record-setting performance
Thursday, May 11
PSAC Track & Field Championships Preview with Coach Andy Young
Thursday, May 11
Highlights: 40th Millersville Metrics
Tuesday, April 04
Highlights: Millersville's PSAC Track & Field Championships
Monday, May 16
