GENEVA, OH – The NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway Thursday with the University of Redlands seeing twelve athletes compete across four events.
The NCAA Division III National Championships, hosted by University of Mount Union are taking place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH. The Bulldogs faced cold and rainy conditions, but saw six athletes advance through the prelims qualifying for the finals in their respective events.
The Women's 4x100 Relay team, consisting of Courtney O'Neal (Las Vegas, NV), Alexandra Ackerman (Lake Elsinore, CA), Sydney Harness (Henderson, NV), and Andrea Lyon (Danville, CA) got things started for the Maroon and Grey posting a 46.45, which put them 2nd in the field, automatically qualifying them for the finals. They will now run on Saturday, May 28 beginning at 12:05pm.
The Men's 4x100 Relay team of Jamir Jones (Fairfield, CA), Cooper Malerstein (Huntington Beach, CA), Cristian Megas (Palmdale, CA), and Markelle Raymond-Hill (Fresno, CA) tried to keep the momentum going, but came up short finishing 12th with a 41.01 ending their run for an NCAA Division III National Title.
Lyon then returned less than two hours later to compete in the 200m and there she found more success boasting an 8th Place finish with a time of 24.32. She will now compete in the Finals on Saturday, May 28 beginning at 2:40pm.
The last competitor for the Bulldogs was Isabella Glenn (Seattle, WA) in the 3000m Steeplechase. She narrowly missed out on an automatic qualifying mark to the finals after coming in 5th in her Heat with a time of 10:59.18. But she was able to come in 10th overall which moves her to Saturday, May 28 to compete in the finals, beginning at 11:30am.
Redlands returns tomorrow for Day 2 action at the Championships with a full slate of competitors. Lyon will run in the 400m Prelims (12:00pm PST), Ackerman will race in the 100m Prelims (12:30pm PST), Raymond-Hill in the 100m Prelims (12:45pm PST), and Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) in the 800m Prelims (1:15pm PST).