FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – SIUE gained some valuable experience at the NCAA Division I Track and Field West Preliminaries at John McDonnell Track and will have three competitors advancing to the next level.
La'Derrick Ward (long jump), Jatavia Wright (triple jump), and Braxton Klavins (400) qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships which takes place June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
"Three qualifiers is terrific progress from a year ago," said SIUE Interim Head Coach Eileen McAllister. "But, of course, you always want more. I am so proud of the athletes and coaches. They conducted themselves wonderfully and competed strong."
On Saturday, four Cougars made their bid for a spot in the national finals. For Klavins and Ward, the duo was attempting to qualify in a second event.
Klavins was kept out of qualifying for a second event by .03 seconds in the 200-meter dash when his time of 20.81 was good enough for 13th place. The top three in each of the three semifinal heats and the next three fastest times qualified for Eugene.
It was a significant leap for Klavins among the nation's best 200 runners. Klavins came into the weekend 43rd out of 48 runners at the West Preliminaries and left with a mark 0.3 faster than his qualifying mark.
"Braxton is progressing every meet," said McAllister. "He is very talented. This year he has improved his running mechanics a lot, and every time out he is learning more about race strategy."
Ward placed 39th in the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 6.5 inches on his first jump of the day. Freshman Julian Harvey, competing in his third event in three days at the West Region Preliminaries, finished 46th overall with a jump 45-5.25.
Elizabeth Hampl, who began competing Saturday morning in the hammer throw, tossed 177-7 for 31st place overall.
SIUE had no seniors among the group of seven competitors at the West Preliminaries, and McAllister said the experience from this season will help next season.
"The other great thing about these athletes returning is that all of them will be able to share their experiences with the rest of the team," said McAllister. "They are testaments that this can be achieved, and they can provide a blueprint of how they did it."
