May 25, 2018
TAMPA, Fla. - A pair of Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the second day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round Friday at the USF Track & Field Stadium.
David Lucas (Lititz, Pa.) needed just one attempt in the men's discus throw to move on to Oregon. On his first attempt, Lucas recorded a mark of 187-2, which held for the fourth-best throw of the competition.
Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine) locked up a trip to Tracktown in the men's 800-meter run. Competing in the first heat, Harris ran a time of 1:46.80 to finish second and automatically qualify for the 2018 NCAA Championships.
In the sprints, Xavier Smith (Douglassville, Pa.) qualified for the quarterfinal round of the men's 200-meter dash. On Friday, Smith took third in the fourth heat with his time of 20.71 to auto qualify for Saturday's race at 2:05 p.m.
A pair of Nittany Lions closed out their time as Penn Staters on Friday with Greta Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.) in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and Hannah Mulhern (Altoona, Pa.) in the women's pole vault.
Lindsley, who holds the No. 5 time in school history (10:11.29), clocked in at 10:26.98 to finish ninth in her heat, and 29th overall.
The women's pole vault saw Mulhern, the co-school-record holder, finish 16th with her height of 13-4.5. After clearing 13-4.5, Mulhern had three attempts at a school-record height of 13-8.5, but was unable to clear the bar.
Action gets underway for the Nittany Lions on the final day of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round starting at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26.