Washington University Track & Field Teams Qualify 12 for NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships
QUALIFIERS: MEN | WOMEN
St. Louis, Mo., May 20, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s and women’s track and field teams will be represented by 12 individuals at the 2012 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are scheduled for May 24-26 at Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif.
The top 22 women’s individuals and top 20 men’s individuals were accepted into the competition. Washington University’s qualifiers for the championships include: seniors Michael Burnstein, Erica Jackey, Tyler Jackson, Justin Pieper, Elizabeth Phillips and Molly Wawrzyniak; junior Anne Diaz-Arrastia; sophomores Anna Etherington, Sarah Fisher, Shannon Howell, and Jasmine Williams; and freshman Lucy Cheadle.
Jackey leads the way for the Washington U. women, qualifying in three individual events. She posted the third-fastest time in the 1,500 meters (4:27.73), one spot behind Phillips who qualified second (4:25.88). Jackey also qualified with the eighth-fastest times in the 800 (2:10.29) and 5,000 (16:57.38). Jackey finished second in the mile at the 2012 Indoor Championships, while Phillips placed third in the event. The prelims of the women’s 1,500 are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, while the preliminary heats of the 800 will be run at 7:10 p.m. on Friday. The 5,000 final is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Cheadle will join Jackey in the 5,000 as she qualified in 17th in the event (17:08.05). In addition, Cheadle will race in the 3,000 steeplechase, along with Fisher and Wawrzyniak. Fisher posted the fourth-fastest time in Division III this season (10:40.00), while Cheadle qualified in seventh (10:44.69) and Wawrzyniak was ninth (10:48.64). Cheadle earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 at this year’s Indoor Championships. The prelims of the women’s 3,000 steeplechase are scheduled for 7:50 p.m. on Thursday.
Jackson and Etherington each qualified third in their respective events. Jackson posted a season-best time of 14.25 to qualify in the men’s 110 hurdles, while Etherington’s mark of 4.01m ranks third in the women’s pole vault. Jackson, the 2012 Indoor 60 hurdle national champion, will race in the prelims at 5:25 p.m. on Friday. Etherington, who placed fourth in the indoor pole vault this year, will compete at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Howell will compete in the women’s 400 hurdles after posting the fifth-fastest qualifying time (1:01.50) in the event. Prelims for the women’s 400 hurdles are scheduled for 5:05 p.m. on Thursday. Burnstein was Washington U.’s final running-event qualifier. He earned a spot in the men’s 10,000 with a time of 30:26.87, which ranked 19th this season. Burnstein has earned All-America honors in the event the past two seasons, finishing seventh in 2010 and third a year ago. He will compete in the event final scheduled for 6:20 p.m. on Thursday.
Williams, Pieper and Diaz-Arrastia will join Etherington in competing in field events for Washington U. Williams cleared a height of 1.68m to qualify 13th in the women’s high jump, while Pieper qualified in a tie for 18th in the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.05m. Meanwhile, Diaz-Arrastia will compete in the women’s triple jump after qualifying 20th with a mark of 11.79m. The women’s high jump is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Friday, followed by the men’s high jump at 5:25 that evening. The women’s triple jump is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday.