May 28, 2015
Jacksonville, Fla. - Auburn juniors Rachel Dincoff and Jessie Johnson each qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and two others advanced to Friday's quarterfinal round during the first day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round Thursday.
Dincoff finished seventh in the women's shot put with a PR of 16.59m (54-10.75), while Johnson qualified in the women's pole vault after clearing a height of 4.18m (13-8.50) tying for seventh. Dincoff will be making her second consecutive trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Sophomore Sashel Brown finished seventh overall in the women's 400m hurdles in a personal-best time of 57.45 to advance to Friday's quarterfinal round. Brown's time is the seventh-fastest in school history and fastest by a Tiger in eight years. Also advancing to Friday's quarterfinal was freshman Jonielle Smith who was seventh in the women's 100-meters with a time of 11.54.
"We had a solid first day with a lot of good things that happened," Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. "Rachel and Jessie each punched their tickets to Eugene and had several PRs, including Rachel, Sashel and Alyssa. All in all, we're pretty pleased with the first day. Friday will be a big day for us and we're looking for some good results."
Sophomore Alyssa Kopp finished 17th in the women's javelin with a personal-best throw of 46.70m (153-2), which is the fifth-best performance in school history. Freshman Kendra Mitchell was 33rd with a mark of 43.17m (141-7).
Senior Kane Grimster finished 43rd in the men's 1,500m in 4:01.75. In the men's 10,000 seniors Griffin Jaworski and Ty McCormick started the race but did not finish.
Friday's action at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida will begin at 11 a.m. CT with the women's discus throw, while running events will begin at 4 p.m. CT with the women's 100m hurdles.