Eagles' Keshun McGee qualifies for NCAA championships in long jump; Shindruk earns NCAA D2 A-A honors...
McGee, the Big Sky champion, used a third round jump of 25-1.25 (7.65m) to improve from 13th at 24-7.25 (7.50m) to eighth and comfortably punch his ticket to Austin, as the top 12 individuals advance to the national championships in two weeks.
The last Eagle to qualify for the NCAA championships was hammer thrower Jordan Arakawa in 2014.
Fifth year senior Chibuogwu, the school record holder in the event, threw 206-5 (62.93m) in the first round to easily advance to Austin.
In the meet’s opening event, Eager took care of business, starting with a first round throw of 215-4 (65.65m), and finishing with a third round toss of 228-6 (69.65m). Any one of his three throws were good enough to advance to the national championships.
Eager qualified for his third NCAA championship appearance with his throw Thursday.
Husky pole vaulter Chase Smith needed third attempt clearances at both 17-5 (5.31m) and 17-7 (5.36m) to move onto the national championship meet, as all seven vaulters who cleared that height advanced.
In the women’s 10000, Pac-12 champ Izzi Batt-Doyle of Washington finished a comfortable third place to secure her second appearance at the NCAA championships with a time of 33:40.80. Mt. Spokane HS grad John Dressel of Colorado was ninth in the men’s 10000 in 29:00.98, while Gonzaga freshman James Mwaura missed advancing to Austin by one spot, finishing 13th in a personal best 29:10.39.
Results of the NCAA West Regionals are available here.
SHINDRUK EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS IN THE 10000 AT NCAA D2s…
Central Washington senior Alexa Shindruk finished seventh in the 10000 meters at the NCAA Division II championships Thursday in Kingsville, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M/Kingsville.
Conditions for the race were not ideal, as heat and humidity were joined by wind to slow the pace of the race significantly. Shindruk battled through, holding off a charge from a secondary pack to grab seventh place with a time of 38:04.69.
“We're very happy to have an All-American in our first final of the weekend," CWU head coach Kevin Adkisson said. "It got a little scary when she lost contact with the top three, but she rallied well when the next group got to her. She had a very solid finish. Nobody had fast times today because of the conditions, but that's not what we were here for. We're very happy with where Alexa finished and are proud of what she accomplished."
In the heptathlon, Seattle Pacific’s Scout Cai stands ninth, while Central Washington’s HarLee Ortega stands tenth at the break, with 2965 and 2931 points, respectively.
Wildcat decathlete Braydon Maier finished day one with 3,471 points, putting the sophomore from Selah in 10th overall. Maier had a pair of top 10 event performances in the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump. Maier clocked 11.33 in the 100-meter hurdles for a ninth-place event finish. Later, Maier cleared 1.85 (6-00.75) in the high jump, placing him in 10th.
Maier hit a mark of 6.70m (21-11.75) in the long jump. Maier threw the shot 11.35m (37-03). The efforts placed him 12th and 13th respectively. Maier ran to a 12th place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.48.
In the women’s 400 hurdles, the Wildcats’ Sidney Trinidad advanced to the finals with a time of 59.78.
In the women’s hammer finals, Liz Larson of Saint Martin’s finished 14th with a throw of 172-6 (52.59m).
Complete day 1 results of the NCAA D2 championships are available here.
NOTE: The NCAA, and the sports information offices of Eastern Washington, Central Washington, and Sacramento State contributed to this report.
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