Posted: May 25, 2017
By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
LEXINGTON, Ky.—On the first day of the NCAA East Preliminaries, Na'Asha Robinson and D'Airrien Jackson represented the Purple and Gold proudly. The sophomores competed in the first round of the 400-meter at the University of Kentucky on Thursday evening.
"Na'Asha performed well today," head coach Wayne Angel said. "She did what she had to do to move on to the next round. She currently has the fifth best time going into tomorrow's quarterfinals and has a super good chance of making it to Eugene and making history."
Robinson placed fifth in a field of 47 participants with a time of 53.05 to qualify for the next round on Friday. Jackson came up just shy of earning a spot in the quaterfinals on Friday when she placed 34th with a 54.64 mark.
"I thought D'Airrien gave it her all today, however, the cards did not fall her way," Angel continued. "I am so proud of these young ladies. They did Tech proud today."
The University of Miami's Shakima Wimbley placed first in the race with a time of 51.81, while the University of Alabama's Domonique Williams placed second with a 52.56 mark. Robinson topped runners from top schools of Miami, LSU, Maryland, Ohio State, Alabama, Purdue, Florida, and Florida State to earn her spot at the top of competition, placing second in her individual heat.
Robinson will once again take to the track on Friday in attempt to earn a spot in the Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The 400-meter quaterfinals are set to begin at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday, and the top 12 will continue on to Oregon.
Where To Follow
All of the action will be live streamed on SECN+. Friday's webstream is available here and live resuts will also be available as the heats finish here.
Tickets
Tickets for the event are available here. General admission is $35 per person, while youth, seniors, and college students (with valid I.D.) can purchase a ticket for $25 for a weekend pass. Day passes will also be available for $15 general admission and $10 for youth, seniors, and college students.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
