LIVE RESULTS
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas A&M - Corpus Christi track and field senior Kassandrea Son punched her ticket to the NCAA National Championships for the second time in her career Thursday in the long jump. Son posted a distance of 6.33m (20-09.25) to place 11th and advance on the first day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The semifinals and finals of the National Championships will take place in Des Moines, Iowa on June 6-9.
"For the last four years Kassandrea has been our go to person," Director of Track and Field Shawn Flanagan said. "She's the only Islander on the women's track team to go to Nationals in school history and now she's done it twice in her career. It's really hard to get to Outdoor Nationals and she's done a really good job of getting there. It's a credit to her and Coach Bungard and what they have been able to accomplish this season. We are looking forward to good things out of her at Nationals."
Junior Patrick Kimeli clocked a time of 3:59.23 in heat four of the 1500m while freshman Shakelia Coleman placed seventh in heat six of the 100m with a time of 11.80. Her time is good for fourth in the school records. Sophomore Ernestine Cray joined Son in the long jump and marked a distance of 4.19m (13-09.00) on her final jump.
"Patrick was in the fourth heat and he followed his normal race strategy which is to sit and kick," Flanagan said. "In many respects, it's a blessing in disguise. He will be fresh going into the 5k on Saturday, instead of having to run the 1500m finals an hour and a half before. It improves his chances to advance.
"Shak had a respectable performance in the 100m and Ernestine will redeem her long jump Saturday in the triple jump."
Coleman will be the lone Islander to compete tomorrow. She will run in the first round of the women's 200m at 8:25 p.m. She sits with the 47th fastest time and a personal-best time of 24.08, which was set at the conference championships in the preliminary round. The 200m quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday at 7:50 p.m.
Roger De La Cruz, Son, Cray and Kimeli will compete on Saturday. De La Cruz will start things for the Islanders in the high jump. The junior currently has the 20th best mark in the region after delivering a record-breaking performance at the conference championships. De La Cruz finished third with a height of 2.15m (7-00.50), breaking his previous school-record clearance of 2.14m (7-00.25) set at the Texas Invitational.
Son and Cray will compete in the first round of the triple jump. Cray sits with the 26th best mark in the region while Son holds the 31st best distance. At the conference championships, Cray and Son finished back-to-back with Cray posting a distance of 12.58m (41-03.25) to finish third and Son marked a personal-best jump of 12.54m (41-01.75) to place fourth. Last season, at the West Prelims, Cray finished in 26th place with a jump of 12.14m, after qualifying with the 33rd best mark in the region. This season, Cray advanced to the West Prelims with a season-best jump of 12.65m (41-06.00) set at the Texas Relays.
Kimeli will compete in the men's 5000m semifinals to finish Saturday's events for the Islanders. The junior sits with the 46th fastest time in the region after clocking a season-best 14:10.91 at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. Last season, at the West Prelims, Kimeli posted a 33rd-place finish with a time of 14:14.04, after qualifying with the 48th best time in the region.
For the latest information, follow Islanders Track and Field on Twitter (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).
Thursday, May 24—RESULTS
Men's 1500m: Patrick Kimeli 3:59.23
Women's Long Jump: Ernestine Cray 4.19m (13-09.00), Kassandrea Son 6.33m (20-09.25)
Women's 100m: Shakelia Coleman 11.80
Friday, May 25—First Round
Women's 200m @ 8:25 p.m.: Shakelia Coleman
Saturday, May 26
First Round Men's High Jump @ 5:00 p.m.: Roger De La Cruz
First Round Women's Triple Jump @ 6:30 p.m.: Ernestine Cray and Kassandrea Son
Semifinals Men's 5000m @ 8:05 p.m.: Patrick Kimeli
