Sophomore Tori Franklin jumps May 12 at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 12 Spartans advanced to the NCAA Championships.
The MSU track and field team advanced 12 Spartans to the NCAA Championships at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships last week.
Sophomore Tori Franklin, freshman Caleb Rhynard and the women’s 4×400-meter relay team qualified Sunday for the national meet for the first time since 1983, joining Lonnie Pugh, Antonio James and Beth Rohl, who qualified on Thursday, and Keenan Michaels, Sarah Birkmeier and Leah O’Connor, who qualified on Friday.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay consists of sophomores Jellisa Westney, Alicia Evans, Jaelynn Pryor and senior Alysson Bodenbach. The sophomores advanced to nationals with a season-best time of 3:36.39.
Winning the women’s triple jump competition, Franklin advanced to her second national meet. Franklin automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after moving into first with a mark of 13.36m/ 43-10.
Also qualifying in the 5,000-meter run Saturday was Rhynard. He posted a time of 14:04.47 to advance to his first national championship meet. He is one of only three freshman to qualify in the event.
For discus, Lonnie Pugh, Antonio James and Beth Rohl qualified on Thursday.
Senior Keenan Michael won his heat for the second day in a row to automatically qualify in the 400-meter hurdles. He clocked a season-best time of 51.33 in the quarterfinals to advance to nationals.
Sophomore Sarah Birkmeier will advance in the pole vault after she set a personal record with a mark of 4.10m/ 13-5¼.
Sophomore Leah O’Connor automatically qualified for the national meet for the second-straight year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She clocked a time of 10:00.73 to finish third overall in the event.
The 12 members of the team will travel to Eugene, Ore., to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 5-8.
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