Wheaton, Ill. - Five individuals will represent Wheaton at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships beginning on Thursday, May 25 at Polisseni Track and Field Complex in Rochester, New York. Eli Odell, Isaiah Clausen and Sam Elsen will represent the Thunder men's program. Susannah Bennett and Abi Gum will compete on behalf of the Wheaton women's team next weekend.

WOMEN'S PARTICIPANTS
Abi Gum will represent Wheaton in the women's heptathlon on Thursday and Friday. Her qualifying effort of 4,449 points was earned at the CCIW Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 5-6, and ranks 18th in the 22-woman field. The seven-event competition begins on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) with the first four events. The final three events will be held next Friday, beginning with the long jump at 11:30 a.m (EDT).

Susannah Bennett (PICTURED RIGHT) will compete in the final of the women's 10,000-meter run on Thursday evening at 9:50 p.m. (EDT). Bennett's qualifying time of 35:50.93 ranks 13th in the 22-woman field; the mark was posted on April 21 at UW-La Crosse's Phil Esten Challenge on April 21.

MEN'S COMPETITORS
Isaiah Clausen will represent Wheaton in the decathlon. He is a two-time All-American in the indoor heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. The two-day decathlon event begins with five events on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) and concludes on Friday when the final five events begin at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). Clausen's qualifying effort of 6,700 points was posted at the Gibson Invitational & Multi-Events Meet on April 13-14 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Clausen's qualifying total ranks third among the 22 selections to this year's field.

Eli Odell has been selected to participate in the men's 400-meter hurdles for the third-consecutive year. Odell earned All-American recognition in the event at the 2021 Outdoor Championships. The prelims for the event this year are Thursday at 6:05 p.m. (EDT) and the finals are Saturday at 3:15 p.m. (EDT). Odell recorded the ninth-fastest time of the 22 selections in the 400-meter hurdles event next weekend. His qualifying time of 52.81-seconds came in a first-place effort at the 2023 CCIW Championships on May 6.

Sam Elsen is one of 22 qualifiers in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Qualifying heats for the event will be held at 7:35 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, with finals on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (EDT). His qualifying time of 8:58.12 earned him a school record, and was posted on May 12 at the St Francis Fighting Chance Invite in Joliet, Illinois. Elsen's qualifying time is ninth-faststet in the 22-man field.