BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Penn State track and field teams saw two more student-athletes punch their tickets to the final round of the NCAA Championships and three more quarterfinal qualifiers on the second day of the NCAA East Preliminary round Thursday at host site Indiana University.
After the first half of the East Prelims competition, the Nittany Lions have three student-athletes set to make the trip to Eugene, Ore. for the final round of the NCAA Championship and five others have clinched quarterfinal spots throughout the remaining two days, with themselves still in contention to make the trip to the finals.
Madison Smith clinched the day's first ticket to Eugene in women's javelin when she placed tenth overall with her top throw clearing 50.71m (166-4). Smith's performance earns her first trip to the NCAA Championship finals.
Mallory Kauffman followed by finishing 11th in the women's shot put after her best throw on the day soared 16.71m (54-10), making her way into the final round of the NCAA Championships. She returns after her appearance in the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier in the year.
Yasmin Brooks qualified for Saturday's quarterfinals for the women's 100m hurdles after clocking a time of 13.20 to place in the top three of her heat. The senior also competed in the first round of the 400m hurdles and placed 29th with a time of 59.88.
The duo of Rachel Gearing and Victoria Tachinski also clinched automatic qualifiers to the women's 800m quarterfinals on Saturday. Gearing kicked her way to a top-place finish in her heat with a time of 2:04.41, while Tachinski placed second in her heat with a time of 2:05.02.
In pole vault, Hailey Zurich and Katie Jones both recorded a mark of 4.11m (13-5.75) to place 24th and 26th, respectively.
Breana Gambrell led the way in the women's long jump, as her best jump on the day of 6.02m (19-9) placed her 16th, narrowly missing out on a top-12 qualifying spot. Also competing in the event, Tesia Thomas' best leap of the day was 5.90m (19-4.25) to finish within the top 25.
The Nittany Lions resume competition at NCAA East Preliminaries tomorrow when Tom Bojalad and the men's team begins at 1 p.m. with the discus throw.
