Michael Williams earns a spot in the 400mH Quarterfinals; Brett Squibbs finishes 31st in pole vault
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 26, 2016) – Day one of the NCAA East Preliminaries provided the ETSU Track and Field program with one qualifier into the quarterfinals as junior Michael Williams (Mt.Laurel, N.J.) advanced in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 51.48.
"We had a good day with Mike advancing to the quarterfinal and Brett clearing two bars along with having a solid try on his final attempt at 6' 10.75"," said director of track & field George Watts.
Williams, the two-time defending Southern Conference Champion in the 400mH, advanced to the quarterfinals after recording a time of 51.48. Williams finished fifth in the third heat of the 400mH but had one of the fastest non-automatic qualifying times to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The time of 51.48 for Williams is the 14th fastest among qualifiers.
Williams will have a chance to compete for a spot in the 400mH at the NCAA Championships tomorrow at 7:45 p.m. Of the three quarterfinal heats, the top three finishers of each quarterfinal race along with the next three fastest times advance to Eugene, Ore., June 8-11.
"If Mike can clean up a couple of things from today's race, he has a chance to move on to the NCAA Championships, " said Watts.
In the field junior Brett Squibbs (Rock Hill, S.C.) finished 31st in the first round of the men's pole vault with a mark of 16' 4.75" (5.00 meters). Squibbs notched the five meter mark on his third and final attempt but on the next progression of 5.15 meters he was unable to advance.
On the women's side freshman Kyra Atkins (Greer, S.C.) will begin her quest towards the NCAA Championships, competing in the first round of the 100 meter hurdles tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. In order to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday, Atkins will either have to place top three in her heat or have one of the next six fastest times.
"Kyra is in her first NCAA race of her career and I expect her to have a good race and hopefully advance to the next round on Saturday," said Watts.
For more information on Buccaneer Track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field pages.
