TAMPA, Fla. – Appalachian State sophomore
Elliott Graves (Reidsville, N.C./Rockingham Early College) advanced to the quarterfinals in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Friday.
Graves, who entered the event with the 18
th best time in the region, crossed the finish line in 51.74 seconds. His time ranked fourth in his heat and 21
st out of 48 competitors in the event. The top three finishers from each of the six heats, plus the next six best times advanced to the quarterfinals.
He will race again on Friday at 2:30 p.m. with a chance to advance to the semifinals in Eugene, Ore. on June 6. The top-three runners from each of the three heats, in addition to the next three best times will advance to Eugene.
App State saw four other athletes compete on Thursday.
Senior
Ryan Hastings (Matthews, N.C./Porter Ridge), who was making his second consecutive appearance in the East Preliminary Round, finished 33
rd in the 800-meter run in 1:50.03. Hastings sees his career come to a close with the school record in the event, posting a time of 1:48.02 at the Duke Invitational last season.
Junior
Tristian Shaver (Thomasville, N.C./Ledford) competed in the pole vault and finished in a tie for 33
rd, clearing 15-11.00. He concludes the season with the third best height in school history, recording a mark of 16-7.50 at the Sun Belt Championships.
Sophomore
Jalen Virgil (Lawrenceville, Ga./Mountain View) notched a 41
st place finish in the 100-meter dash in 10.58 seconds. Virgil, who is also a member of the football team, concludes his season with the second fastest time in the event in program history, with a time of 10.29 seconds, set at the Sun Belt Championships.
After a lengthy weather delay, senior
Chelsey Hargrave (McLeansville, N.C./Williams) placed 42
nd in the long jump with a mark of 18-7.00. Hargrave was making her second consecutive appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries. She ends her career ranked third all-time in the long jump, with a distance of 20-1.75, which earned her a gold medal at this season's Sun Belt Championships.
Along with Graves, sophomore
Jabari Johnson (Yokosuka, Japan/Nile C. Kinnick) will also compete on Friday. Johnson is slated to compete in the First Round of the 200-meter dash at 3 p.m.
