FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophomore
Elizabeth Khatevi of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi track & field team further extended her season on the second day of the NCAA West First Round on Thursday evening, putting together an effort in the 1500m that was just good enough to qualify her for the quarterfinals in the event that will take place during the meet's finale on Saturday.
Khatevi – a former Southland Conference 1500m champion – took the track for the first time this week in the second of four heats, squaring off against a field of 10 other racers needing to finish fifth or better to earn the automatic qualification. After hanging near the middle of the field for the first three splits, the Kenyan made her move on the bell lap, mustering enough of a kick to bring her near the leaders and cross the line in a position to clinch her spot to the next round. Khatevi ended up recording a time of 4:21.69, ranking behind only Berlyn Schutz of Nebraska, Hayley Burns of Northern Arizona and Skye Ellis of Northwestern and just ahead of conference rival and compatriot Evaline Chepkoech of Stephen F. Austin, who ended up securing the final berth for the heat.
Khatevi will now compete in Heat 1 of the quarterfinals on Saturday, which is currently scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. CT. Like in the first round, the five best times in each of the two heats will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with the next two best times also earning spots in the 12-woman field. Khatevi will be looking to become just the fourth woman in A&M-Corpus Christi history to compete at the biggest stage in collegiate track & field, with the club currently consisting of Sashane Hanson in the high jump in 2019, Hannah McWilliams in the pole vault in 2018 and Kassandrea Son in the long jump in both 2010 and 2012.
Beyond Khatevi, the Islanders also had five other athletes compete at the NCAA West First Round over the first two days, with nearly all of them outperforming the seed that they entered competition with. After some weather-related rescheduling, the team finally got going on Wednesday night in the men's javelin, starting with a pair of competitors in
Jordan Bowling and
Chase Hight. Bowling ended up reaching the higher mark of the two, topping out at 62.76m to finish 27
th overall, a 12-spot improvement on his 39
th seed. Hight – the Southland Conference champion in the event – was not far behind, recording a best throw of 60.68m to place 34
th.
The action then resumed Thursday morning in the women's hammer throw, where
Breyunna Dowell improved on her 41
st seed by finishing 38
th with a best throw of 55.68m on her first of three attempts. Later in the day,
Phylis Kibet raced alongside Khatevi in the 1500m and beat her 45
th seed with a finish of 42
nd after crossing the line in 4:25.72, and to close things out,
Natalia Rankin-Chitar did the same in the shot put by going from 25
th to 22
nd by virtue of a top mark of 15.78m.
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