GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence track and field team will send the four student-athletes to compete at the NAIA National Outdoor Championships. The three day event, which takes place in Gulf Shores, Ala., will begin on Wednesday, May 25 before concluding on Friday.

Allyson Conner, McKenzie Clark, Tatiana Martinez and Jillian Sanchez are the four athletes who will be competing for the squad. Sanchez will be competing in two events – the discus and the hammer throw. Conner will be competing with Sanchez in the hammer throw while Martinez will compete alongside her in the discus. Clark will be competing in the javelin throw for the second straight season.

"It's really exciting to have this many throwers going down and representing the University," throws coach Alan Cress said. "We're going to be there all week because we don't just have one event. It's an exciting way to end the year. When we're recruiting we have a lot of people comment about how we have four athletes competing in five events at the National Championships. It is a big deal to have that many throwers going. We have a chance to do really well and break some more records."

The team last competed in early May at the Tom Gage Classic in Missoula, Mont. against Div. 1 competition. Since then, the four athletes have spent the past few weeks with Cress finetuning their technique as they prepare to give it all they've got at Nationals.

"Practice has been going really well," he said. "We've used this time to work on the little things. This last week has been laser focused on having that perfect technique. These last few days we've focused on just being ready. It's all about confidence. At this point of time in the season you can't fix too much. We just want to be focused and confident. We have the ability to compete and we're ready to compete. We've done everything we can do to set ourselves up for success."

Conner, a sophomore from Orange, Calif., is competing at Nationals for the first time in her career. She qualified in the hammer throw by hitting the B standard with a mark of 49 meters at the Providence Open. She's since hit a mark of 49.48 meters and is going to Nationals with a goal of breaking the 50 meter mark.

"Allyson is out to surprise everybody," Cress said. "Her goal is to get over the 50 meter mark and see what happens. She's got to be solid, get after it and be confident in what she's doing. She's looked really good these past couple of weeks. Having another teammate in the field with her is going to help. I'm excited to see her compete at this level."

Clark returns to the National Championships after finishing 11^th in the javelin last season. The freshman from Carter, Mont. is currently ranked inside the Top 4 in the javelin and has goals to earn All-American status this year by finishing in the Top 8.

"She's well within that range to go out and become an All-American," Cress said. "She just needs to get out there and be confident from that very first throw. The experience last year is going to help her a lot. She's going to be a lot more comfortable. Hopefully she's able to relax and do well from the very first throw."

Martinez, a freshman from Las Vegas, Nev., will compete in the discus throw for the Argos after qualifying for the event at the Al Manuel Invitational. At that event, Martinez broke the school record with a throw of 43.66 meters and is hoping to break it again at the National Championships.

"Her practices have been really good," Cress said. "All of her throws have been around her personal best. We want to go down there and break her own school record. She gets three throws which are going to make it or break it. I want her to go out and go after those. I'd rather see her get out there and get after it and fail then hold back. This meet is all out so I want her to go out there and get it."

Sanchez, who has competed at the NAIA National Indoor Championships twice before in her storied Argo career, will make her National Outdoor Championship debut for the squad. She will compete in both the hammer throw and the discus.

"Jillian has been to a National Championships before," Cress said. "Sure it was indoor, but the feel is the same. That's going to help. She's confident. She's thrown over 50 meters in the hammer throw in every meet except the first one. She's trending in the right direction. It's going to take a good throw, but she's in the mix. It's there for her, she just has to go get it. She's primed and ready. We'll see how she stacks up."

Conner and Sanchez will kick things off for the squad with the hammer throw, which will begin on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. MTN. Clark will follow later that evening with the javelin throw at 5:00 p.m. MTN. Martinez and Sanchez will then finish up the competition on Friday with the discus at 12:00 p.m.