Four America East performers have advanced to the finals at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif. Viktoriya Rybalko of Maine (long jump), Natalie Grant (hammer throw) of Boston University, Vincent Tortorella of Northeastern (hammer throw), and Jochen Dieckfoss of Boston University (steeplechase) will continue in their respective events as the championship continues through Saturday (June 14).
Grant qualified Thursday (June 12). Rybalko, Tortorella and Dieckfoss advanced after qualifying Wednesday (June 11).
Grant was ninth in the hammer throw with a distance of 66.64 meters (198'11.0"). The top 12 advanced to the finals Saturday (June 14) at 1 p.m. (ET). Candice Scott of Florida was the top qualifier with a distance of 67.85 meters (222'07.0").
Rybalko was eighth in the high jump with a leap of 6.30 meters (20'08.0"). The top 12 advanced to the finals Friday (June 13) at 9:55 p.m. (ET). Elva Goulbourne of Auburn was the top performer in the preliminaries with a distance of 6.73 meters (22'01.0").
Tortorella advanced to the finals of the hammer throw with a distance of 63.91 meters (209'08"), 10th overall. The top 12 finishers, led by Lucais MacKay of Georgia, who threw 69.17 meters (226'11"), will compete in the finals Friday (June 13) at 1 p.m. (ET).
Dieckfoss ran 8:40.94 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to finish eighth. Fourteen runners, including Dan Lincoln of Arkansas, who ran 8:36.09 to lead the qualifiers, will compete in the final Friday (June 12) at 11:10 p.m.
Teresa Covert of Albany, the America East Champion in the 100-meter hurdles, ran 13.99 in that event Wednesday (June 11) and failed to advance to the next round. Perdita Felicien of Illinois was the top qualifier with a time of 12.89. Ahndraea Allen of Northeastern, the America East Champion in the 400 meters, ran 54.55 in that event Thursday (June 12) and failed to advance. Allison Beckford of Rice (51.80) was the top qualifier.