Hilary Coady

For the second time in her career, College of Wooster junior multi-event standout Hilary Coady has earned an invitation to the NCAA Div. III Track & Field Championships, as she will compete in the pentathlon at this year's indoor nationals, which takes place Friday, March 13, at Winston Salem, N.C., the NCAA announced on Monday.

Coady, who finished 21st in the heptathlon at the 2014 NCAA Div. III Championships (outdoor), is seeded 15th in the pentathlon, with her top score of 3,364 points having taken place two weeks ago during the multi-event portion of the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships.

"The ultimate goal is for (Hilary) to challenge the top women in the country," said head coach Dennis Rice. "She showed great confidence at the NCAC multi's. That was a great meet for her, and she carried that over to the NCAC Championships, and now we expect her to continue to perform at a high level at the national championships."

The pentathlon starts with the 60-meter hurdles, an event in which she lowered her school record to 9.22 seconds this past weekend, and also consists of the high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800 meters.

"Her performances have improved in all five events," remarked Rice. "The key to success in the pentathlon is to focus on each event. She's solid in all events and very confident in all events, so she's capable of doing that now."

The top-eight finishers earn All-American honors, and the seventh through 15 seeds are separated by just 102 points, so the competition should be an exciting one.

"It's a well-balanced event. It should be very competitive … and interesting to see how it falls in place. (Hilary's) going to have great efforts from the first event through the last event, and will be among the best athletes in the country," Rice added.

The 2015 NCAA indoor meet is being held at the JDL Fast Track, with Roanoke College serving as the official host.