Bloomington, Ind. - Wyatt Lefker advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the pole vault while
Sean Peterson advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1500m on Wednesday afternoon to highlight a successful day for the YSU men's track and field team at the NCAA East Prelims held at the Haugh Track & Field Complex.
Peterson started off the day strong while Lefker put the icing on the cake with his school-record performance.
Lefker cleared a height of 5.29m which broke his school record that he set earlier this month. Only Trevor Stephenson of Michigan State and Kyle Rademeyer of South Alabama cleared the bar ahead of Lefker and a group of 11 others. The third-place finish for Lefker was a school-best finish at the Regionals, besting the previous-best mark of fifth.
Peterson posted the fifth-fastest performance in the 1500m with a time of 3:43.97. He advances to Friday's quarterfinal in the event which will feature 24 runners. The top 12 will move on the the NCAA Championships. Friday's race is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
Others competing for the Penguins on Wednesday were
Anthony Woods (100m),
Dominic Perry (shot put),
Tye Hunt (long jump) and
Noah Drudy (javelin).
In the other events, Woods placed 30th in the 100m dash with a time of 10.36 seconds, Hunt finished 45th in the long jump with a leap of 7.03m, Perry was 37th in the shot put with a best toss of 17.28m and in the javelin, Drudy did not register a mark.
The Penguins have three women athletes who will compete on Friday -
Erin Bogard (pole vault),
Kyndia Matlock (100m) and
Molly Radcliffe (shot put).