May 26, 2016
Jacksonville, Fla. - Auburn senior thrower Alyssa Kopp qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing 11th in the women's javelin throw on Thursday at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium. Kopp is the first Auburn woman in school history to advance to the NCAA Championships in the javelin.
"I'm so happy to be able to do this for Auburn," Kopp said. "It's my last season at Auburn and I really wanted to make my teammates and coaches proud. I wanted to do it for me, but I've been here so long, I wanted to do something to have an impact. Hopefully today I showed I can do something for this team."
Competing in the first flight, Kopp's throw of 47.58m/156-1 was good for second heading into the higher seeded second flight. Her mark held, as the top 12 in the event advanced to Eugene, Ore., home of the 2016 NCAA Outdoor meet in two weeks.
"I feel like I've worked so hard," Kopp said. "I needed to work to my potential and throw what I knew I could throw. There was great competitors out there and I did just enough (to advance)."
Fellow teammate Kylee Carter finished 17th as the true freshman notched a toss of 46.03m/151-0.
Sashel Brown and Michelle Atherley advanced to Friday's semifinals of the women's 400m hurdles. The duo finished third and fourth, respectively in the sixth heat. Brown crossed in 58.44, while Atherley posted a time of 58.85. Brown's time was 19th overall in the quarter final rounds and Atherley's was 24th.
Junior Brianna Heilsnis finished 15th in the women's hammer throw with a best mark of 58.51m/191-11, less than two feet from qualifying for nationals. Junior Veronica Eder ran a valent race in the women's 10000m, finishing 16th in 34:55.55. Eder was 14 seconds off finishing in the top 12 and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
On the men's side, freshman Randall Ceneus advanced to the quarterfinals of the 400m dash after posting a time of 46.52. Ceneus came out of the fastest heat, as he was one of five to advance from the heat.
Auburn freshman Mark Rubalcaba established a new PR in the men's long jump with a mark of 7.37m/24-2.25 to finish 25th, just five inches from 12th place and a spot at nationals. Rubalcaba was the second-highest finishing freshman in the event.
Sophomore Dominique Bullock jumped 5.82m/19-1.25 to finish 34th in the women's long jump.
Day 2 of the NCAA East Prelims begin Friday at 12 p.m. ET with the women's discus. Auburn will have nine competitors in action Friday.