While many athletes are looking forward to the changes synonymous with spring, certain members of the indoor track and field team are still in season.

And for three of them, a spot was confirmed yesterday in this weekend's NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Amelia Lundkvist '14, Victoria Sanford '14 and Kelsey Whitaker '16 recorded top marks at the Tufts University Last Chance Qualifier, as well as at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship to qualify for the meet.

Mohamed Sidique '15 represented the men's squad with record-setting jumps at the ECACs.

"It's a huge honor [to qualify] because it's been a goal of mine for a while," explained Whitaker.

"It was out of reach at the beginning of the season because I wasn't running well. It was especially exciting for me because my dad went to the college that is hosting [the tournament] and [my parents are] already on their way out there."

Whitaker and Lundkvist on Thursday shattered the five-minute barrier in the women's one-mile run. Whitaker took the top spot in four minutes, 57.15 seconds, while Lundkvist wasn't far behind in 4:59.38, finishing in second place.

The race marked the first time that either Whitaker or Lundkvist broke the five-minute mark in their strongest event.

Those two times were converted for qualifying purposes at the NCAA Division III Championships which will run on a banked track-unlike the flat track of Tufts. Whitaker's time converts to 4:54.24, four seconds behind the fastest Division III time this year, while Lundkvist's time converts to 4:56.45.

Lundkvist's time, then, leaves her just a second behind the 10th-fastest time in Division III.

Sanford wasn't far behind in fourth with a finish in 5:06.77.

Thursday's run in the Last Chance Qualifier lived up to its name, as Lundkvist and Whitaker qualified for the NCAAs with the times recorded at the meet.

While Lundkvist and Whitaker rested their legs on Saturday, Sanford competed once again in the mile. She finished fourth at the ECAC meet, clocking in at 5:03.81

"I feel like I've peaked at the right time with my times improving over the last couple of weeks ... [and] I have more in me to perform better than I have" said Whitaker.

Whitaker's and Lundkvist's efforts on Thursday gave them the fifth and ninth best times, respectively, in Division III for the Championships. Sanford, meanwhile, has the 17th-fastest time in Division III entering the meet, a 5:03.41 effort that she recorded earlier this year at the Tufts Stampede on Jan. 31.

"The three of us are really close, and I'm really excited that Amelia is back to race at nationals, especially because of injuries," said Whitaker. "Not a lot of us were expecting Vicky to qualify so everyone was very excited about that."

Another competitor on the bubble of the NCAA Championships, Sidique, competed twice last week. In Thursday's Last Chance Qualifier, he recorded a personal best of 6.48 meters in the long jump. In Friday's triple jump at the ECAC Championships, he set a personal best of 14.28 meters, ranking at 18th in the Division III competition.

Although he missed out on the national tournament, Sidique was proud of his team's performance at ECACs over the weekend.

"Everyone pretty much didn't have the greatest day, but did what they had to do," he said.

"This whole week the pressure of qualifying for nationals can be a lot, and we worked hard. You can't be mad at that."

The NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships will be held in Lincoln, Neb. this upcoming Friday and Saturday.