TAMPA, Fla. -- Five members of the Appalachian State men's track & field program and one member of the women's track & field program will compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Tampa, Fla. from May 24-26. 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.
MOUNTAINEER REPRESENTATIVES
Appalachian State will be represented by six members of the program:
- Elliott Graves - Graves repeated as the champion in the 400-meter hurdles in 51.37 seconds at the Sun Belt Championships and will represent the university in the event. He enters ranked 18th in the event in the region and will compete in the First Round on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
- Chelsey Hargrave - Hargrave, who battled an injury all outdoor season, qualified for the East Preliminary Round 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 2:00 p.m.
- Ryan Hastings - Hastings will run in the 800-meter run for the Mountaineers, after posting a time of 1:49.22 at the Sun Belt Championships. He enters the race ranked 25th in the region and will compete in the First Round on Thursday at 4:10 p.m.
- Jabari Johnson - Johnson posted 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 3:30 p.m.
- Tristian Shaver - Shaver will compete on Thursday at 9:30 a.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.
- Jalen Virgil - 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 2:30 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.
- Note: Times may be subject to change due to projected weather forecasts in the area.
BACK-TO-BACK APPEARANCES
Chelsey Hargrave and
Ryan Hastings will make their second straight appearance at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
- Hargrave competed in the triple jump last season and finished 41st with a mark of 39-10.75 (12.16m)
- Hastings ran in the 800-meter run, posting a mark of 1:51.70, which placed him 31st
