FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Washington State junior
Aislinn Overby (high jump) and freshman
Micaela De Mello (100m hurdles) each qualified for a trip back to Hayward Field for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the final day of NCAA preliminary rounds Saturday at John McDonnell Field.
Overby finished 12
th overall, the final qualifying position, in the women's high jump after clearing 1.81m on her third try to advance while De Mello broke the Washington State program record in the 100m hurdles for a fourth time this season, finishing fourth in the first heat at 12.98. With the top-three from each heat automatically advancing to Eugene, De Mello watched as her first-career sub 13-second time proved to be just enough to earn her trip to the NCAA Championships.
Overby opened her day at 1.66m and cleared her first three jumps of the day (1.66m, 1.71m, 1.76m). Just one cm below her PR, Overby made it over 1.81m/5ft-11.25in on her third attempt to move into the top-12 as competition came to a close with the championships field set.
De Mello led off the WSU women's team in the 4X100m relay as the group opened the Cougars' track events with a fifth-place finish (45.67, 19
th overall) in the opening heat.
Pia Richards and Carolina Jerotich ran the 3000m steeplechase together in the second of three heats. Richards finished 11
th in the heat and 29
th overall (10:36.76) while Jerotich finished one spot back of her teammate in their race and 33
rd overall at 10:43.95.
Leading off the 100m hurdles, De Mello was out of the blocks and over the first hurdle with the leaders in the first of three heats. In a tightly contested field, the Brazilian freshman narrowly missed a top-three, automatic qualifying spot as Wisconsin's Destiny Huven outstretched De Mello by a .02 second gap at the finish line to finish third. Having earned another program record and personal best time, De Mello's 12.98 left her 12
th overall at the conclusion of the three quarterfinal heats and into the final qualifying spot by a narrow .04 margin.
Washington State's men's and women's teams each concluded the week with three qualifiers into the NCAA Championships on June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
Jacob Englar (pole vault), Mitch Jaobson (high jump), and
Colton Johnsen (3000m steeplechase) will represent the Cougars at the men's championships and
Valentina Barrios Bornacelli (javelin), Overby (high jump) and De Mello (100m hurdles) advance to represent the WSU women back at Hayward Field next month.
The 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted at Hayward Field from June 8-11 and will broadcast on ESPNU (Days 1-2), ESPN 2 (Day 3), and ESPN (Day 4).
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WSU Day 4 Results:
