JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
Elliott Graves posted a PR in the 400-meter hurdles and finished 17th during the quarterfinal round of the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Graves advanced to the quarterfinals after placing fifth in his heat and 21st overall on Thursday with a season-best time of 51.38 seconds.
On Friday, he finished seventh in his heat and 17th overall with a PR time of 51.11 seconds. His mark betters his standing of third all-time in program history by .18 seconds. The top-three finishers from each of the three heats plus the next three fastest times advanced to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Tex.
Graves sees his App State career close with three consecutive Sun Belt titles in the 400-meter hurdles and two straight appearances in the quarterfinals of the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Tristian Shaver also represented App State in the pole vault on Thursday. Shaver finished in a tie for 28th place with a mark of 16-3.25 (4.96m).
Shaver concludes his career as a two-time qualifier for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round. In addition, he earned All-Sun Belt honors during the 2018 Sun Belt Championships and ranks second in school history in the pole vault, with a mark of 17-1.50 (5.22m), set earlier this season at the Pepsi Florida Relays.
