Six Mountaineers Qualify for NCAA East Preliminary Round

BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State track & field will be represented by six athletes at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Tampa, Fla. from May 24-26.

Senior Ryan Hastings (Matthews, N.C./Porter Ridge), senior Chelsey Hargrave (McLeansville, N.C./Williams), junior Tristian Shaver (Thomasville, N.C./Ledford), sophomore Elliott Graves (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham Early College), sophomore Jabari Johnson (Yokosuka, Japan/Nile C. Kinnick) and sophomore Jalen Virgil (Lawrenceville, Ga./Mountain View) all qualified for the event.

Hastings enters with the 25th ranked time of 1:49.22 in the 800-meter run, set at the Sun Belt Championships over the weekend. This marks the second straight season he has qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round. He will compete on Thursday at 8:10 p.m.

Hargrave will make her second appearance in the NCAA East Preliminary Round after competing in the triple jump last year. This season, Hargrave will represent the Mountaineers in the long jump. She qualified with a mark of 20-1.75 (6.14m), which earned her a gold medal at the Sun Belt Championships. She will compete on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Shaver, who will compete on Thursday at 1 p.m., took third place for all-conference honors at the Sun Belt Championships over the weekend with a PR height of 16-7.50 (5.07m). The mark sits 44th in the region and ranks third all-time in program history.

Graves repeated as the 400-meter hurdle champion at the Sun Belt Championships in 51.37 seconds. He enters the meet with the 18th best time in the event in the region and will compete at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Johnson earns his first trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round after posting a new school record in the 200-meter dash at the Sun Belt Championships. His time of 20.70 seconds was fifth overall and bettered the previous school record of 20.73 seconds, set by Dennis Moore in 2011. Johnson, who owns the 26th best time in the region, will run on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Virgil, who is also a wide receiver on the Mountaineer football team, enters with the 28th best time in the 100-meter dash in the region and will compete at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. He recorded his qualifying time of 10.29 seconds, which is the second fastest time in school history, during prelims at the Sun Belt Championships.

Forty-eight athletes qualify for the preliminary first round in the east and west regional. The top-12 finishers from each preliminary site qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. from June 6-9.