Trio of Rams qualify for NCAA Championships in discus

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The nation's top women's discus thrower didn't lead the field Friday afternoon at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State, but Shadae Lawrence did all she needed to return to the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

The former NCAA champion and three-time All-American produced a throw of 197-9 inches, finishing third in qualifying at the NCAA West Preliminaries, where the top 12 all advance to the championship meet in Austin, Texas on June 5-8. She'll also have a teammate along for the ride, as Kelcey Bedard grabbed the final qualifying spot with a throw of 178-5.

As soon as the women left the ring, teammate Adam Dawson waited until the very end to secure his spot at the final meet of the year.

"That was a solid day," CSU head coach Brian Bedard said. "They showed good composure. They did what they needed to do."

In her past competition, the Mountain West Championships, Lawrence tossed a school and conference record 213-5, the best throw in the nation this season and the sixth-best of all time. She didn't have to win anything on the day, just advance, which she did with her second throw after scratching on her first attempt.

Bedard's qualifying throw also came in the second round. Teammates Maria Muzzio (166-2) and Tarynn Sieg (157-3) finished 26^th and 39^th, respectively.

Dawson, a freshman who won the Mountain West title, was sitting in 20^th with one attempt remaining. He unleashed a throw of 181-1 to jump nine places and extend his outdoor season.
At the time, he didn't act as if the moment was do-or-die.

"He was relaxed and composed," Bedard said. "He didn't look like a freshman. He was coachable through the competition."

Destinee Rocker had the Rams' day off to a great start on the track, qualifying second in the final heat of the 100 hurdles to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round. With an illegal wind behind her, she posted a 12.97, which would have beaten her school record of 13.05.

Regardless, it was the fifth-fastest time in qualifying and an impressive start toward the sophomore hitting her ultimate goal.

"She embraced the moment and went for it," said assistant coach J.J. Riese, who works with the hurdlers. "Very aggressive execution."

Marybeth Sant had a pair of races, opening with the quarterfinals of the 100. She ran a 11.56 to finish sixth in the opening heat, finishing 20th overall. Running with teammate Jessica Ozoude in the first heat of the 200, she posted a 23.89, finishing 32nd overall. Ozoude was fourth in the heat, just missing the guaranteed advancement to the quarterfinals with a time of 23.28, but it was good enough to earn the second at-large berth into the quarterfinals and was quicker that three automatic qualifiers.

Ali Kallner closed the Rams' competition on the day, running a personal best of 10:08.42 – fifth best all time for the program – in the 3,000 steeplechase, placing the junior 17th overall.

Jackson Morris competed in two events on Friday, finishing 19^th in the javelin (215-0) and 42nd in the discus (168-5).

In Saturday's field events, the Rams will have Sieg and Muzzio in the shot put and Isa Bynum in the men's triple jump. On the track, the women's 4x100 will attempt to qualify in the first race of the day, then the 4x400 team in the finale. In between, Rocker and Ozoude have their quarterfinals, while Cole Rockhold, Carson Hume and Eric Hamer hit the track for their 5,000 qualifying bids.

Field events will begin at 3:45 p.m., with races slated for a 7 p.m. start.

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