On night one of the NCAA West Preliminaries, Iowa State senior Erinn Stenman-Fahey took another step towards the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. Running in the sixth and final heat, the Canterbury High School graduate found her way into one of the three auto qualifying spots during over the first lap and did not let go. Stenman-Fahey crossed the line in two minutes and 6.16 seconds to get her automatic berth into today’s NCAA quarterfinal.
Stenman-Fahey will line up in the first of three quarterfinals at 9:30pm eastern. The top three finishers from heat race, plus the next three fastest times will move on to the semi-finals in two weeks time.
Also in action in Thursday night was Lauren Gale, who took to the track in round of the women’s 400 metres. The Colorado State freshman finished fifth with a time of 54.02 seconds in a heat littered with juniors and seniors. With a 31st overall finishing, Gale will now turn her attention towards Saturday’s quarterfinals in the 4×100 and 4×400 metre relays.
In the East Preliminaries in Florida, Lion alum, Alejandro Zapata posted a seasonal best 45.55 second clocking for 400 metres. The time was second fastest among the field and positions him well to return to the NCAA Championships.
Congratulations is extended to another Alum, Roan Allen, who launched the javelin further than he’s ever done before, 70.74 metres, to place second at the NAIA Championships yesterday for his UBC Thunderbirds.
While the NCAA Preliminaries continue tonight and tomorrow, para athletes Shanna Boutillier and Joshua Cassidy will be representing Canada this weekend at a pair of IPC Grand Prix events.
Boutillier will return to familiar grounds at the Desert Challenge in Tempe, Arizona. The 22 year old will contest the T46 100, 200 and 400 metre events. Boutillier has set Canadian records over 400 at this event each of the past two seasons.
Across the pond, Cassidy will take a break from his spring of marathon races to contest the T54 800, 1500 and 5000 metre events in Notwil, Switzerland.
