The magical ride continues for Eastern Washington's Keshun McGee...
The Eastern Washington standout from Bremerton finished sixth in the triple jump at the NCAA West Preliminary Round Saturday at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus, leaping a personal best 52-4.75 (15.97m) to earn a spot in the NCAA championships in that event, to go along with the ticket he punched two days ago in the long jump.
In the process, McGee, who won the Big Sky title in both events two weeks ago, moved to second on the all-time Eastern Washington list, with only Vic White’s 52-8 (16.05m) from 1980 standing in the way.
"What a performance," said men's head coach Stan Kerr. "Keshun did Eagle Nation proud tonight in qualifying in his second event for the NCAA Division I National Track & Field Championships."
Kerr gave kudos to Eagle assistant coach Dave Nielsen for preparing McGee.
Nielsen, the long-time Idaho State coach, and coach to 2000 Olympic pole vault champ Stacy Dragila, was the force behind McGee’s improvement this season.
"Coach Nielsen had Keshun ready to go and, WOW, did Keshun deliver," said Kerr. "The team and staff are deeply proud of Keshun and what he's done all year long. Now comes the fun part, heading to Austin to compete with the best in the country. We're excited for him and this opportunity to represent EWU on the national stage."
He is the first Eagle to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships in two individual events.
Meanwhile, the University of Washington advanced two additional athletes to Austin.
Allie Schadler (w 1500; 4:14.67 PR), and Mick Stanovsek (m 1500; 3:42.47) earned berths to compete in the national championships in two weeks. Stanovsek, who went to nationals last year while at Oregon, will make his second appearance at the outdoor championships, while Schadler qualifies for her first national championship meet outdoors.
Jonah Wilson of the Huskies added the shot put to the discus berth he earned Friday, throwing 62-11.25 (19.18m).
Washington State’s Nick Johnson advanced to Austin with a third place finish in his heat of the 110 hurdles, running 13.91.
Also advancing for the Cougars were Peyton Fredrickson (7-1/2.16m) and Mitch Jacobson (6-11/2.11m) in the mens' high jump. Jacobson was one of three to survive a dramatic six-man jump-off for the final three spots, clearing 7-0.25 (2.14m).
Colfax native John Dressel of Colorado advanced to nationals in his second event, qualifying in the men’s 5000 by finishing fourth in his heat, running 14:07.98.
Also advancing was University Place native Lexi Ellis of Oregon, who was eighth overall in the women’s triple jump, bounding 42-5.5 (12.94m).
Complete results of the NCAA West Preliminary Round are available here.
TRINIDAD EARNS BRONZE MEDAL IN 400 HURDLES AT NCAA D2s...
In Kingsville, Texas, Central Washington sophomore Sidney Trinidad’s third place finish in the 400 hurdles highlighted the final day of competition at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships.
Trinidad ran 59.49, as Franklin Pierce senior CeCe Telfer took the national title in 57.53.
The Wildcats also got points Saturday from Alexa Shindruk in the women’s 5000, as she placed seventh in 17:27.70.
CWU senior Mariyah Vongsaveng closed her college career with All-American honors in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, placing seventh in 13.87 seconds.
Kate Lilly’s fifth place finish in the women’s 5000 in 17:23.33, and Scout Cai's eigth place finish in the pole vault at 12-8.75 (3.88m) gave the Seattle Pacific Falcons a 32nd place team finish with 7 points. Cai scored a seventh place finish in the heptathlon that concluded Friday.
Central Washington finished 20th in the overall women’s team standings, scoring 12 points.
Complete day 3 results of the NCAA D2 championships are available here.
DUCKWORTH SIXTH AFTER DAY 1 OF GOTZIS DECATHLON...
In Gotzis, Austria, University of Washington volunteer coach Tim Duckworth stands sixth at the Gotzis Hypomeeting decathlon Saturday.
Duckworth has 4293 points, as Canada's Damian Warner leads at the break with 4596 points.
He ran 10.61 in the 100, won the long jump with a best of 25-4 (7.72m), threw the shot 42-0 (12.80m), high jumped 6-10.25 (2.09m), and ran the 400 in 50.06.
Complete day 1 results of the Gotzis Hypomeeting decathlon are available here.
NOTE: The NCAA, the GNAC, the Gotzis Hypomeeting, and the sports information offices of the University of Washington, Eastern Washington, Central Washington, and Sacramento State contributed to this report.
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