DES MOINES, Iowa – Southeastern Louisiana junior Kovey Simmons will represent the Lion track and field team at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which run Wednesday through Saturday at Drake Stadium.

Simmons, a native of DeRidder, will be one of 24 student-athletes competing for the pole vault national title. The pole vault finals are set for Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. Live video and results will be available at www.ncaa.com.

Simmons is one of 30 Southland Conference student-athletes set to compete at the national meet. Simmons, Jeff Rodriguez of UT Arlington and Texas State's Logan Cunningham will all compete in the pole vault.

At last month's NCAA East Preliminary Round, Simmons was one of 11 student-athletes to clear a meet-high 17-0.75 feet (5.20 meters) in the pole vault to earn a spot in the national meet.

“Kovey came up extremely clutch to earn his spot in the NCAA Championships,” Southeastern head coach Sean Brady said. “Several of the top athletes in our region weren't able to do what Kovey did at the East Preliminary Round, so we go into the national meet knowing that if Kovey can improve just a little, he'll have a legitimate shot to be an All-American.”

Simmons' vault at the regional meet tied his own school record. Simmons originally set the mark with a meet-high performance at the prestigious Texas Relays in April.