FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jatavia Wright and Braxton Klavins both qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday with impressive performances at John McDonnell Track.
The duo joins La'Derrick Ward who qualified Thursday in the long jump at the NCAA Division I West Preliminaries.
The NCAA Championships meet takes place June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
"It was a tremendous day two for SIUE," said Interim SIUE Head Coach Eileen McAllister. "We had more athletes moving on to Eugene, SIUE records, and personal bests."
Wright claimed her spot in the national championships in the triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 7.25 inches. It came on her fifth jump of the day and was just one-quarter inch ahead of Air Force's Kassie Gurnell for the final spot advancing to nationals.
Wright placed 12th overall and fifth in the third of four flights.
Klavins broke the school record at 400 meters en route to a qualifying time of 46.13. The top three in each of the three heats advanced to nationals as well as the three next fastest times. Klavins was among the next fastest times as his fourth-place finish in the second heat netted 11th place overall.
The previous SIUE record at 400 meters was set by Kyle Rose (46.32) in 2007.
Klavins turned around two hours later and automatically advanced to the semifinals of the 200 in a time of 20.921. His second-place finish in the fourth of six heats placed him 12th overall. A total of 24 runners will compete in Saturday's semifinals.
"To say I'm ecstatic would be an understatement," said McAllister.
SIUE's Jessica Oranika, Julian Harvey, and LaDonna Caston also competed Friday for the Cougars.
Oranika placed 18th in the 400-meter semifinals. Her time of 53.91 was just outside the top 12 times needed to advance to nationals.
Harvey was among 10 competitors who exited the high jump competition at 6-7.5. Harvey placed tied for 37th overall.
Caston finished 33rd in the 100-meter hurdles and did not advance to Saturday's semifinals. She placed fifth in her heat in 14.04.
"The athletes came here to compete and are showing it," said McAllister. "This is such a huge part of SIUE history and is continuing to set a good foundation for a bright future."
Four SIUE student-athletes will compete in the final day of competition Saturday. A list of start times and events are below.
Saturday, May 31
10:00 a.m. – Elizabeth Hampl (Women – Hammer Throw)
6:00 p.m. – La'Derrick Ward and Julian Harvey (Men – Triple Jump)
7:35 p.m. – Braxton Klavins (Men 200 Meter Dash Semis)
