AUSTIN, Texas – LaDonna Caston advanced to the quarterfinal of the women's 100-meter hurdles while Ahmad Evans will compete in the men's 200 meter quarterfinal during day three of the NCAA West Preliminaries.
"Kudos to Coach Howard," said Head Coach Eileen McAllister. "All of the athletes looked good and ran near lifetime bests."
Caston finished in 18th place of the 24 advancing to the quarterfinal. She ran a time of 13.40 seconds, which ties her school record and personal best. She will need to finish in the top 12 tomorrow to advance to the final rounds of the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Oregon.
"LaDonna looked super and is ready to roll tomorrow," said McAllister. "She is more confident this year and it shows. She is engaged and attacks."
Evans finished 20th in the 200 at 20.99, also qualifying to compete in the Saturday quarterfinal.
"The race was enough to get him to tomorrow," said McAllister. "He has more in the tank and needs to put a complete race together. He has the ability to make it out."
Jessica Oranika, Brittany Thomas, and Darius Smith also competed in the 200 meters, missing the quarterfinals.
Oranika is the current SIUE record-holder in the 200 meters with her time of 23.85 at this year's Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
"Jessica overcame adversity this year to have a terrific season," said McAllister. "She has grown tremendously as a person and an athlete. She didn't finish the season how she wanted, but the breakthroughs she made bode well for the future."
Thomas ended her freshman season as the SIUE record-holder in the 100 meters, finishing in 11.70 at the Big Blue Invitational. Her personal best in the 200 meters was 23.96, set at the Tom Botts Invitational.
"Brittany had a fantastic freshman year. She matured a lot," said McAllister. "Couple that with her talent, and she's set up to do more great things."
Darius Smith overcame an injury from last season to return in 2015 in full force. He set personal bests in both the 100 (10.57) and 200 (21.00), finishing fifth and fourth in the OVC Championship, respectively.
"Seeing Darius back to form is wonderful," said McAllister. "He will be a major player for us next year. He is hungry for more after this season."
Caston continues her quest for a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships Saturday at 7:05 p.m., while Evans looks for his ticket to Eugene, Oregon, at 7:50 p.m.
