BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – On the first day of women's competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, Tech punched three tickets to Eugene on an excellent day of track & field qualifying.
Mirroring Wednesday's altered schedule, Sara Killinen opened Thursday's action in the hammer throw. Sitting in 14th ahead of her third and final throw, the sophomore from Lapua, Finland delivered a clutch mark of 68.09m (223' 4") to leap into third and punch her ticket to Eugene for the first time in her career.
Later in the afternoon, Rachel Baxter and Julia Fixsen comfortably advanced to the pole vault finals at the NCAA Championships. Both Baxter and Fixsen cleared the final height of 4.31m (14' 1.75") to secure their spots in Eugene.
Closing out the night for Tech was Essence Henderson, whose mark in the shot put of 16.00m (52' 6") came up just short of earning her a spot in Oregon. Henderson returns to action on Saturday morning for the discus as she looks to qualify for NCAA Outdoors in successive years.
On the track, Hokies displayed gutsy racing in both the 800m and 1500m as seasons came to an end for several athletes. In the 800m, Grace Boone, Hannah Ballowe, and Barbora Malíková left it all on the track among the top athletes in the east. Leigha Torino and Ava Hassebrock put together strong races to the finish in the 1500m as well.
Action resumes for Tech tomorrow in the second and final day of men's competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. EJ Bell and Aidan Clark kick off a packed schedule at 2:30 PM in the high jump, before track events begin at 5 PM with the 4x100m relay.Gallery: (5-26-2022) T&F: 2022 NCAA East Regional Day 2