Seymour automatically qualified after finishing 2^nd in her heat

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 25, 2017) – With a time of 59.17 in the 400 meter hurdles, ETSU women’s track and field senior Katrina Seymour (New Providence, Bahamas) qualified for the 400mH quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon on day one of the NCAA East Prelims at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field facility.

“I’m very happy for Katrina to get through the first race. It was really a sigh of relief more than anything after getting injured at the conference meet,” said director of track & field/cross country George Watts. “She ran at about 80 percent effort today and will have to run much harder and faster tomorrow.”

In the second heat of the day, Seymour blazed to a time of 59.17 and a second place finish in the heat, automatically qualifying her for the quarterfinal. The 400mH quarterfinal is set to take place on Friday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Of the two quarterfinal heats for the 400mH on Friday, Seymour has to finish in the top three in her heat or have the next best three times in order to advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 7-10.  

Seymour ran in one of the most competitive heats of the day in the 400mH as six of the eight runners were from power five conference schools, the most of any heat. The heat also featured two of the top 20 fastest times in the NCAA in the event.

Overall of the six heats in the first round of the NCAA East Prelims, Seymour’s time of 57.19 sits as the 10th fastest.

“The great thing is that we will have all four of our athletes competing tomorrow,” said Watts. “They just need to prepare like they would for any other meet, enjoy the moment and compete hard.”

Three more Buccaneers will compete tomorrow at the east prelims. Schedule is below:

• Kyra Atkins (100mH) (First Round) – 4:30 p.m.
  • Brett Squibbs (Pole Vault) – 4:30 p.m.
  • Simeon Roberts (3000m steeplechase) (Quarterfinal) – 9:00 p.m.

For more information on Buccaneer Track and field, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the track and field page