Big day for Athenas at NCAA Track & Field Championships
WAVERLY, Ia. – The second day of the NCAA Track & Field Championships proved to be very successful for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women. All three individuals who competed in preliminary races qualified for the finals and junior Vaiva Palunas (SCR) finished up her second of three events in the championships with the women's shot put.
The women's shot put was the first event that CMS competed in on the second day of the NCAA Championships. Palunas was in the second flight of throwers and between the first and second throws, increased 0.63m at 13.45m for her longest. Just two spots out of the top-9, Palunas only had the three opportunities and finished in 11th overall. Tomorrow, she will compete in her third event, the women's hammer throw with teammate Emily Bassett (CMC) at 11:30 a.m.
Sophomore Aiyanna Cameron-Lewis (CMC) ran a personal best in the women's 400m preliminary race at 55.17 seconds, qualifying her for the finals on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. She raced in the third heat which had five of the top-7 finishers from the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and placed third in the heat, fifth overall.
Shortly after Cameron-Lewis' race, top-seeded Tyra Abraham (SCR) competed in the prelims for the women's 100m. Abraham won the first heat and had the top time at 11.83 seconds. This is the second event Abraham has qualified for the finals at the championships this year. On Saturday she will compete in the finals for the 100m at 2:40 p.m. and then for the 200m at 3:50 p.m.
The final race of the day for the Athenas was the women's 800m featuring junior Carmen Mejia (SCR). Mejia entered championships as the 2015 runner-up. She raced in the first heat, placing second only behind Emily Richards who was third in the Indoor National Championships earlier this year. At 2:09.87 Mejia placed fourth overall and automatically qualified for the finals tomorrow at 3 p.m.
The schedule for CMS on the final day of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 28 is (all times are in Central Daylight Time):
women's hammer throw at 11:30 a.m.,
men's 1500m at 1:25 p.m.,
women's 400m at 2:20 p.m.,
men's triple jump at 2:30 p.m.,
women's 100m at 2:40 p.m.,
women's 800m at 3 p.m.,
women's 200m at 3:50 p.m.,
men's 5000m at 4 p.m., and
women's 5000 at 4:25 p.m.
Schedule of Events | Live Stats | Video
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
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