Jacksonville, Fla. - Youngstown State's Zach Gehm finished ninth in the discus throw at the NCAA East Prelims becoming the third member of the YSU track and field program to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next month. Gehm's effort of 56.94m on his second attempt zoomed him up the standings and punched his ticket to Austin, Texas, and the NCAA Finals.
On a windy day, Gehm's opening throw of 52.00 put him in 3nd place. However, his next throw jumped him up the standings 25 places into seventh position. Over the next 20-plus attempts he dropped just two spots to finish safely inside the top 12.
Later in the day at the Jax Track at Hodges Stadium, triple jumper Jakari Lomax and hurdler Harry Barton were in action.
Barton ran a time of 52.97 seconds to finish 21st in his initial NCAA appearance while advancing to the quarterfinals. Lomax had a best jump of 14.25m in the triple jump.
Gehm joins men's pole vaulter Dorian Chaigneau and women's pole vaulter Erin Bogard as Guins to qualify for the NCAA Championships which start on June 7 in Austin, Texas.
Tomorrow, Jahniya Bowers tries to become the first women's runner in school history to advance to the NCAA semifinals in the 100m dash. Bowers will run in the third heat with the race starting at 6:35 p.m. on ESPN+.
