EUGENE, Ore. – On day one of competition in Hayward Field at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Cheickna Traore finished as the top semifinal qualifier and secured a spot in the finals of the men's 200-meter dash.
Traore cruised to a 20.02 (+0.7 m/s) in heat one of the 200-meter semifinals, recording his second-fastest mark of the season. The Nittany Lion star will set the blocks for the NCAA title on Friday night at 10:37 p.m. ET. He aims to become Penn State's third 200-meter First Team All-American since the event was moved from 220 yards in 1976, and its first in the event in over two decades.
ALL-AMERICAN FINISHES
Handal Roban placed 16th in Division I in the 800-meter run, earning himself Second Team All-America honors for his effort. Roban has been named an All-American in the 800-meter run in each of his four trips to the NCAA Championships in his first two collegiate seasons. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines native crossed the line in 1:48.67, earning third in his heat, just 0.40 out of a qualifying spot in the final.
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES
In his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Yukichi Ishii placed 18th in Division I with a 1:49.07 in the men's 800-meter semifinals. Ishii concluded his outstanding season Wednesday evening at the NCAA Championships, a campaign in which he set the sixth-fastest 800-meter time in Penn State history, an outstanding 1:46.22 mark.
For the third consecutive season, Penn State's men's 4x400-meter relay team made an appearance on the national stage. This year, the group of Patrick Abel, Darius Smallwood, Olivier Desmeules, and Matt DeMatteo placed 23rd in Division I with a 3:11.01 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
UP NEXT
Penn State's women's team will begin competition Thursday evening with Hayley Kitching in the women's 800-meter semifinals and Florence Caron in the women's 10K final.
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