Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
Foster, Mercier Finish Top-20 at NCAA East Prelims
5/24/2019 9:28:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium)
Event: NCAA East Preliminaries (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 25 -- at NCAA East Preliminaries - Day Three (Jacksonville, Fla.), 6:30 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Two women from the University of Michigan women's track and field team posted top-20 finishes to lead the Wolverines on the second of three days of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds on Friday (May 24) at Hodges Stadium.
Sophomore Chloe Foster and true freshman Jessica Mercier finished 16th and tied for 20th in their respective 400-meter hurdles and pole vault events, just missing the cut for one of 12 coveted NCAA Championships berths.
Michigan already has a national qualifier in Erin Finn after her third-place finish in Thursday's (May 23) 10,000-meter semifinals.
Competing in hot and humid conditions with temperatures in the mid-90s, Foster nearly set a personal record in her second straight race. Coming off the final turn as part of a big group of competitors bunched up closely, Foster finished strong to clock 58.61 for sixth in her race.
She missed the final qualifying spot by less than three-quarters of a second, though she finished two spots better than her No. 18 pre-meet seed. She will finish the season ranked No. 5 in school history and as an indoor All-American on the distance medley relay team.
Mercier got her first taste of NCAA postseason competition after her big breakthrough silver-medal performance at the Big Ten Championships. After clearing her opening height of 3.77m (12 feet, 4.5 inches) on her second attempt, a first-try make at 3.92m (12-10.25) put her back in strong position at that point.
However, she could not make muster at 4.07m (13-4.25) in three chances at that bar.
Though she could potentially compete at the USATF U20 Championships later this summer, she will finish her debut collegiate season as a two-time Big Ten scorer, the Michigan freshman indoor record holder and ranked No. 2 indoors and No. 3 outdoors in school history.
Another true freshman, Aurora Rynda, had her hopes of making a run at the national championships dashed by misfortune. One day after running a collegiate career-best 2:05.49 for a heat win in the 800-meter first round, her quarterfinal race was cut short just over 200 meters in on Friday with a hard fall to the track.
She got up and finished 24th overall, and a protest of the result was ultimately dismissed.
Regardless, she will close out her first collegiate campaign as an indoor Big Ten 600-meter champion, a first-team All-American in the distance medley relay and ranked No. 10 in outdoor school history.
A third member of that All-American distance medley relay team from this past winter, Alice Hill, finished top-25 in the steeplechase with a 10:26.37 clocking for 23rd overall.
Thrower Bailey Baker closed out a record-breaking redshirt season with a 33rd-place finish in the discus -- her second event of the weekend -- at 47.93m (157-3). Based on her output this season alone, she will finish her season as a two-time Big Ten scorer and the school record-holder both in the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw.
Full Michigan results can be found below.
Competition at the NCAA East Prelims will conclude Saturday. Action on the track begins at 6:30 with Meg Darmofal in the 1,500-meter quarterfinals and concludes with the quartet of cross country All-American Camille Davre, Anne Forsyth, Jessi Larson and Kathryn House in the 5,000-meter semifinals at 8:05 p.m.
Collegiate Career-Best Performances
Career debuts in events not included; indoor career bests are considered separate, even for the same event; wind-aided performances (greater than +2.0m/s) are not included.
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = Automatic qualifier into quarterfinal; q = non-automatic qualifier into quarterfinal; w = wind-aided performance (Wind readings greater than +2.0m/s are considered "wind-aided" and are not eligible for record purposes.)
800 Meters
QUARTERFINALS
24. Aurora Rynda / 2:20.38 [fall]
PRELIMS (Contested Thursday)
10. Aurora Rynda / 2:05.49Q
1,500 Meters
PRELIMS (Quarterfinals to be contested Saturday)
15. Meg Darmofal / 4:20.97Q
29. Micaela DeGenero / 4:25.69
5,000 Meters
Semifinals to be contested Saturday
10,000 Meters
SEMIFINAL (Contested Thursday)
3. Erin Finn / 33:21.56 [Advanced to NCAA Championships]
43. Raquel Powers / 36:49.86
400-Meter Hurdles
QUARTERFINALS
16. Chloe Foster / 58.61
PRELIMS (Contested Thursday)
10. Chloe Foster / 58.48Q
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
QUARTERFINALS
23. Alice Hill / 10:26.37
39. Megan Worrel / 10:38.33
High Jump
Contested Thursday
14. Claire Kieffer-Wright / 1.75m (5-8.75)
Pole Vault
t20. Jessica Mercier / 3.92m (12-10.25)
Discus Throw
33. Bailey Baker / 47.93m (157-3)
Hammer Throw
Contested Thursday
16. Bailey Baker / 60.58m (196-11)
Updated Timetable of Michigan Competitors (Saturday)
| Saturday (May 25) | Event | Round | Time (EDT) |
| Meg Darmofal | 1,500-meter run | Quarterfinal* | 6:30 PM |
| Camille Davre | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:05 PM |
| Anne Forsyth | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:05 PM |
| Kathryn House | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:05 PM |
| Jessi Larson | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:05 PM |
Players Mentioned
