BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Three more Penn State track and field student-athletes qualified for the final round of the NCAA Championships Saturday to close out the NCAA East Preliminary round at host site Indiana University.
The Nittany Lions finished the weekend with six individuals and the men's 4x400 meter relay team qualifying for the final round of the NCAA Championship, which will be held June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
The list of athletes include Tyler Merkley (hammer throw), Madison Smith (javelin throw), Mallory Kauffman (shot put), men's 4x400 relay team (James Onwuka, Korbin Martino, Savion Hebron, Olivier Desmeules), Yasmin Brooks (100 meter hurdles), Rachel Gearing (800 meters), and Victoria Tachinski (800 meters).
Yasmin Brooks punched the day's first ticket to Eugene when she earned an automatic qualifier in the 100 meter quarterfinals after clocking a time of 13.21. Brooks is now set to make her first trip to the final round of the NCAA Championships.
The duo of Rachel Gearing and Victoria Tachinski earned the Saturday's remaining two qualifying spots in the 800 meter quarterfinals. Racing in the same heat, Gearing earned an automatic qualifier by running a time of 2:03.72 to place third. Tachinski finished right behind her in fourth and earned her qualification spot on time with a new outdoor personal-best mark of 2:03.89.
Tachinski, who earned second-team All-America honors in the 800m race at the 2022 Indoor Championship, moves onto the Outdoor Championship to mark her second overall NCAA Championship finals appearance and first trip to Eugene. Gearing is also set to make her first trip to Eugene.
Makenna Krebs narrowly missed out on her personal-best time in the 3,000m steeplechase when she finished with a time of 10:18.48 to place 23rd.
On the field, Cecelia Bacon finished 22nd in high jump by clearing a mark of 1.76m (5-9.25). Breana Gambrell ended her day with a top jump of 12.27m (40-3.25) in the triple jump.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will close out the outdoor season in two weeks when six individual athletes and the 4x400 relay team travel out to Eugene, Ore. to compete in the final round of the NCAA Championships from June 8 to June 11.
