KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ave Maria Track and Field team is sending four Gyrenes to the NAIA National Championships, which will be held May 20-22 in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the most athletes Ave Maria has sent in their short four-year history as a program.

Donavan Mattson will be the lone Gyrene competing on the men's side. Mattson will be racing in the 1500 meters. Mattson finished with the 12^th fastest time in the NAIA this season, posting a mark of 3:51.53 at the Emory Qualifier on May 6. Mattson won the Sun Conference Championship in the 1500 meters on April 26.

The semifinal race for the 1500m is May 20 and the final is scheduled for May 22.

On the women's side, Ave Maria is sending three athletes: Caitlyn O'Brien, Maria Talafuse and Molly From.

O'Brien is in the most events among the four Gyrenes, competing in the Heptathlon, Long Jump and 100m Hurdles. In the Heptathlon, O'Brien logged the third highest score in the NAIA this season with 4,844 points at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational April 10 and 11. Among the seven events that make up the program, she has the highest mark in the 100m Hurdles and Long Jump of the 16 athletes competing.

The first four events of the Heptathlon are scheduled for May 20. The final three events will wrap up May 21.

O'Brien is also competing in the 100m Hurdles and the Long Jump individual events. In the 100m Hurdles, she comes in with the 11^th fastest time in the NAIA, posting a time of 13.91 also at the Hurricane Invitational. In the Long Jump, O'Brien has the fifth longest mark at 6.00 meters flat, which she logged at the SEU Fire Invitational March 14.

The 100m Hurdles' semifinal is May 21 with the final set for May 22. The Long Jump Final is May 20.

Talafuse qualified for the 5K Racewalk with the 17^th fastest time in the NAIA. Talafuse recorded a time of 30:15.27 at the Sun Conference Championship April 26 and finished third.

The 5K Racewalk Final is set for May 21.

From is the final Gyrene to make the trip to the Tar Heel State, qualifying for the High Jump. From logged the 20^th highest mark in the NAIA this season with her Sun Conference Championship winning jump of 1.67 meters on April 26.

The High Jump final is set for May 22.

The Championships will be held at Karl Straus Track on the campus of the University of North Carolina Asheville. All three days will be broadcast on the Urban Edge Network. The link to the live stream and to the ticket portal can be found on the Track and Field schedule page.