The TCU women’s 400-meter and 1600-meter relay teams both qualified Saturday for the NCAA Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11. After advancing in the 100-meters Friday, senior Jessica Young and sophomore Charles Silmon also made the top-12 to move on in the 200-meters as well Saturday.
“I was very pleased with our women today,” head coach Darryl Anderson said. “They had a really good day, making it in on both relays and Jessica moving on in the 200 meters. On the men’s side, Charles got through easily in the 200. They will all be off to Des Moines a week from now.
Young recorded a time of 23.23 seconds in the 200 meters for second place honors in the third quarterfinals heat to place ninth overall. She will be one of 24 semifinalists that will proceed to Des Moines, Iowa in two weeks in search of the event crown. Silmon worked his way in the semifinals of the men’s 200 meters after cruising to a time of 20.74 seconds in the quarterfinals for second overall.
The women’s 4×100 squad of sophomore Chaniqua Corinealdi, Young, freshman Veronica Jones and senior Teneshia Peart got the day off on the right foot, registering a time of 45.16 seconds and finishing 12th overall. The foursome will now take their talents to Des Moines to compete for the national title.
The 4×400 team of senior Kristal Juarez, Young, freshman Briyanni Thomas and sophomore Quinterra Charles pushed through with a clocking of 3:35.54 to claim seventh-place honors and also move onto the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Heading into the weekend, the men’s 4×100 team was ranked seventh in the West region and was looking to punch its ticket to Des Moines as well. However, a questionable call between the second and third leg of the race found the Frogs’ quartet disqualified for a late exchange.
“The men’s 4×100 relay got disqualified and unfortunately their season is over even though they weren’t even close to being out of the exchange zone,” Anderson said. “They weren’t even in the middle of the exchange zone. It is just something that we have to deal with. We’ve got the race on tape and even the other coaches at the meet thought that we weren’t anywhere close to being out of the zone. We protested the call, but they looked at it and came back to tell us that our protest had been denied. I feel bad for our group of guys, because they had a great opportunity in front of them in Des Moines. The officials, in general, do a great job in our sport, but occasionally there are calls likethis one that you just have to deal with.”
The Frogs will return to campus this week to begin preparations for the NCAA Championships, June 8-11, in Des Moines, Iowa.