On the first day of the Division II NCAA championships, individual athletes and HBCU schools stood out.
Two of the three Lincoln University of Missouri (Mo.) women’s athletes competing in the 400-meter hurdle preliminaries earned a spot in the finals.
All competing in the first heat, Odeshia Nanton led all runners (third overall), running a 58.93. Maria Diamond finished a distant second in the heat, running a 59.47.
Although Shevanae Thomas finished third in the heat with a time of 59.70, she finished 10th among all runners, 0.13 seconds behind the final qualifier.
Before Nanton and Diamond advance to the 400-meter hurdle finals, set to take place at 5:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, they will have their eyes set on qualifying for the 4×400 final.
They, along with Thomas and Shoneal Clarke-Giddings, will compete in the first heat of the final race of the day at 9:10 p.m. ET.
St. Augustine’s leads the way in the 400-meter hurdles
Three HBCU men’s athletes came out of the 400-meter hurdle preliminaries with a spot in the finals, placing among the top eight finishers in the field.
Leading the pack was St. Augustine’s Sean Kalawan, who recorded the best time of all participants, running 51.05.
Lincoln (Mo.)’s Sharim Hamilton, who ran in the same heat as Kalawan, finished third (fifth overall), setting a new personal best time of 51.49.
Coming in right behind Hamilton is Claflin’s Jaevon Riley, who finished second in the first heat (sixth overall) with a 51.84 time.
The 400m hurdle finals are set for Saturday.
However, before that, Kalawan and Riley will run as part of their respective schools’ 4×400 relay team at Friday 8:50 p.m. ET.
Golden Rams blaze into the final round
Albany State had a tremendous opening day, qualifying for the finals in two events.
Albany State’s 4×100 men’s relay team got things going, running a 40.03, finishing fifth overall among 24 teams across two heats to qualify for the final.
This was followed by Kibren Moore and Ed Gilbert, each a member of the 4×100 relay team, qualifying for the individual 100-meter final.
Golden Rams just lit up the track in Heat 1 at #NCAADii National Championship
Kibren Moore – 9.99 1st
Ed Gilbert – 10.09 3rdThey both advance to the finals on Saturday @ 3:25pm (4:25pm est)#ASUTwitter @HBCUtrack_field @WALBSports @ASUGoldenRams pic.twitter.com/md10iSZpvN
— ASU Track & Field/Cross Country (@ASUTFXC) May 23, 2024
Moore led the first heat, running a 9.99, while Gilbert, competing in the same heat, finished third in his heat (fifth overall) with a 10.09.
Both finals are set to take place on Saturday, with the 4×100 scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET and the 100-meter at 4:25 p.m. ET.
However, before that, Moore and Gilbert will also compete for a spot in the 200-meter final, which will take place on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
