4x100 Breaks School Record, Three More Qualify on Day Three in Austin

NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY DAY 3

AUSTIN, Texas – Christoff Bryan (high jump), Shardia Lawrence (triple jump) and Konstantina Romaiou (triple jump) each qualified for the NCAA Championship in their respective field events, while the women’s 4x100-meter relay squad shattered the school record in their race to qualify for nationals, as the Wildcats concluded competition at the NCAA West Preliminary at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

The Wildcats finished the three-day event with a total of 15 qualifiers, four of which were part of the 4x100-meter relay squad. They will join Nina Schultz, who qualified based on her score in the heptathlon earlier this season at the Jim Click Shootout (6,021 pts.), at the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Oregon, on June 7-10.

“I think we had a really good meet,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. “Since we have been doing the regional meet, what we had qualify over the last three days is a pretty normal number for us. That said, we will be coming out of this meet probably a little better off than in years past.”

Racing in the first track event of the day, the women’s 4x100-meter relay put on a performance for the ages as Akia Guerrier, A'Keyla Mitchell, Ranae McKenzie and Wurrie Njadoe broke the school record in the relay with a qualifying time of 44.20. The quad is the first relay crew to make the trip to the NCAA Championship in program history.

Saturday’s time bested the previous school record of 44.55, which was set by Lisi Maurer, Candice Mills, Shunte Thomas and Monique Coleman in 2006 at the Big 12 Championship in Waco, Texas.

“I am terrified about going to Eugene, but excited about qualifying with my teammates,” Guerrier said about being part of the 4x100-meter relay’s performance. “We are going to have to put more effort into our training and continue to work on our teamwork heading into nationals.”

After missing qualification to last season’s NCAA Championship by one centimeter, Lawrence leapt her way into Eugene for the first time in her career with a jump of 13.39m/43-11.25 (1.3) to finish in fifth place overall. Lawrence recorded her winning mark on her second attempt of the series after fouling on her first jump. She did not improve on her final attempt, but had already put herself in a position to advance.

“I am looking to break the school record and get a personal best at the NCAA Championship,” Lawrence stated about her mindset heading to nationals. “What happened last year really motivated me to get there this year. I came out here this year and secured my spot.”

Romaiou also secured her first trip to the NCAA Championship, finishing in 12th place overall with a final mark of 13.08m/42-11 (1.0) to punch her ticket. Romaiou’s qualification was much different than Lawrence’s, as the freshman finished a tie with Daisy Ding of Rice. With the tiebreaker based on the athletes’ second-best jump, Romaiou (12.38m/40-07.50) edged out Ding (12.26m/40-02.75) by 12 centimeters to earn her trip to Oregon.

“I am so excited about this opportunity to compete at nationals,” Romaiou said about her first trip to Eugene. “Until the last moment, I was thinking ‘I am not in,’ but I made it. I want to jump close to my personal best, so I want to make the finals.”

The Wildcats’ final qualifier of the day was Bryan, who had a dominant day in the high jump and finished in a tie for first place with a final clearance of 2.18m/7-01.75. Bryan, who entered the day as the 11th seed in the West region, was perfect through all four of the bars he attempted on the night before passing after already earning a spot in Eugene.

K-State has now had at least one male high jumper qualify for the NCAA Championship meet since the 2003 season, while Bryan will be making his third-straight appearance at TrackTown.

“I just knew that I had to clear all of the bars on my first attempt,” Bryan noted about the level of competition in the high jump. “I have been struggling all season, so I just made up my mind that I was going to come out and finish my best. I have a lot of confidence heading to nationals. This is definitely my best meet this season, so I want to build off my confidence heading into Oregon.”

Junior A'Keyla Mitchell narrowly missed qualification in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 23.00 (3.8) to finish in 13th place. Her time was just .01 seconds behind Oklahoma’s Ama Pipi (22.99) who claimed the last qualifying spot. Fellow sprinter Terrell Smith also finished just outside the top-12 in the 200-meter dash, taking 15th place after crossing the finish line in 20.63 (2.9).

The Wildcats’ final track event was the 4x400-meter relay, which saw McKenzie, Mitchell, Guerrier and Lauren Taubert finish in 21st place with a time of 3:40.42.

Jess St. John competed in the shot put for the Wildcats on Saturday, finishing in 24th place with a toss of 15.26m/50-00.75. Also in the field on Saturday were Javier Lowe and Miles Bearden, who finished in 31st place in the triple jump (15.16m/49-09) and tied for 33rd place in the high jump (2.05m/6-08.75), respectively.

K-State’s final competition of the 2016-17 season will be the NCAA Championship, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon at historic Hayward Field on June 7-10. More information on the meet, including ticket information and a complete schedule, can be found at the meet’s homepage here.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

NCAA West Preliminary Day 3

Mike A. Myers Stadium

Austin, Texas

Men’s 200-Meter Dash

15. Terrell Smith – 20.63 (2.9)

Women’s 200-Meter Dash

13. A’Keyla Mitchell – 23.00 (3.8)

Women’s 4x100-Meter Relay

6. Guerrier-Mitchell-R. McKenzie-Njadoe – 44.20Q (School Record)

Women’s 4x400-Meter Relay

21. R. McKenzie-Mitchell-Guerrier-Taubert – 3:40.42

Men’s High Jump

T1. Christoff Bryan – 2.18m/7-01.75

T33. Miles Bearden – 2.05m/6-08.75

Men’s Triple Jump

31. Javier Lowe – 15.16m/49-09

Women’s Triple Jump

5. Shardia Lawrence – 13.39m/43-11.25

12. Konstantina Romaiou – 13.08m/42-11

Women’s Shot Put

24. Jess St. John – 15.26m/50-00.75

Kansas State University Athletics

4x100 Breaks School Record, Three More Qualify on Day Three in Austin

NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY DAY 3

Related Videos