Jacksonville, Fla. - Youngstown State senior pole vaulter Erin Bogard advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships following a strong performance on Thursday evening at the NCAA East Prelims at the Jax Track and Hodges Stadium. Also, senior sprinter Jahniya Bowers set a school record in the 100m dash to advance to the quarterfinals in the event which are on Saturday night.
Bogard cleared a height of 4.12m on her second attempt which allowed her to tie for 11th place in a hard-fought competition. The top 12 advanced to the NCAA Championships in the event which is June 8 in Austin, Texas. She is the just the second YSU women's athlete to make the NCAA Outdoor finals in school history and first the since thrower Danielle Curry qualified in the shot put back in 2010.
In the pole vault, nine athletes cleared 4.12m, but Bogard was just one of just six to eclipse the mark on either their first or second attempt. An earlier miss by Kentucky's Siobhan Szerencsits at 3.82m dropped her to 13th place and out of a qualifying position.
Bowers impressed nearly winning the second heat of the 100m dash against some impressive competition. She had a tremendous start and held the lead for more than 90 meters, but was just nipped by LSU's Thelma Davis at the finish. By virtue of finishing in the top three of her heat with a time of 11.22 seconds, Bowers advances to the quarterfinals which are set for Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
Earlier in the day in the javelin, Addi Watts had a strong NCAA debut finishing 22nd with a throw of 45.06m in the javelin.
On Friday, the men return to action as Zach Gehm competes in the discus, Jakari Lomax is in action in the triple jump and Harry Barton takes to the track in the 400m hurdles.
