Saturday, May 31, 2014
Staff report
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
Sophomore Austin McLean set a new personal best in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:51.70 and finished 18th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida.
McLean’s time ranks second on the Youngstown State outdoor track 3,000-meter list and improved his personal best by nearly six seconds from 8:57.59, set on May 10 at the Virginia Challenge.
Maplewood High graduate Eric Rupe finished 34th with a time of 9:07.35.
Sophomore Jay Jakovina and freshman Arnaldo Morales are the final YSU athletes to compete in the preliminaries. The pair will compete in the high jump at 5 p.m. today.
Jakovina and Morales both cleared solid heights that advanced them to the meet. Jakovina cleared a height of 2.10 meters at the Raleigh Relays in March while Morales had a 2.09m on May 2 to win the Horizon League Championship. Jakovina has the 31st-best mark in the event while Morales is 42nd.
Senior Bobby Grace (shot put) and sophomore Connor Neu (hammer throw) have already qualified for the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 11-14.
Grace qualified Thursday night.
Neu broke his own record in the hammer throw earlier Friday.
On his first attempt, Neu crushed his old mark of 65.26m (214-1) with a throw of 66.19m (217-2), which put him in first place at the time.
He fouled on his next three attempts before notching a 64.27m throw to mark in the final round.