2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Results (Day 1)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Academy of Art University Track & Field put itself into prime position for All-American honors at the NCAA Division II National Championships inside the Irwin Belk Complex on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University. Thursday's action was highlighted by four impressive efforts to get
Hannah Hensley into a tie for first in the heptathlon and finals qualifications for the men's 4x100m relay,
Mobolade Ajomale in the 100m, and
Gatien Airiau in the 3000m steeplechase.
Hensley opened the heptathlon with a 14.62 in the 100m hurdles that was just 0.03 shy of her season-best and had her in sixth-place to start. Next, in a performance similar to Nationals last season, the Pinehurst, N.C. native went on a run in the high jump, with only a single miss over five clearances before matching her lifetime-best and program record 5-10 (1.78m) for the event win and elevation into first overall.
The Interior Architecture & Design major carried that momentum into the shot put where she unleashed a personal-best 28-11 (8.81m) on her final throw and continued to hold onto the top position. Hensley finished out the first four events with a season-best 25.70 in the 200m dash and settled into a first-place tie with Angelo State's Kami Norton (3121 points).
Beginning the evening portion of the first day of action, the men's 4x100m team combined for a season-best to secure their spot in Saturday's final.
Marlon Britton, Ajomale,
Nicolas Morales Williams, and
Arrun Palacio turned in a 40.50 for not only their fastest time of the year, but also fourth-fastest in program history and the eighth overall spot out of the prelims. In what was the equivalent of a photo-finish between two separate heats, Academy of Art edged Minnesota State for the final qualifier by 0.001.
Ajomale would return to take another step toward defending his 100m national title. In the third and final prelim heat, the Richmond Hill, Canada native cruised to a season-best 10.30 for the top time. Eastern New Mexico's Marcus Parker offered the next closest mark at 10.38.
Airiau also took care of his business qualifying through to the final of the 3000m steeplechase with a confident heat victory. At the 600m mark, the Frenchman made his move, grabbing the lead and never looked back for remainder, finishing 9:04.20. Following a quick opening heat, Airiau took fifth overall.
Not long after expending quite a bit of energy in four heptathlon events, Hensley contested the long jump and ended up finishing 20th overall with her best mark, 18-5 (5.61m), coming on her second attempt.
Academy of Art will return to the Irwin Belk Complex tomorrow for the second of three days of action which includes the conclusion of the heptathlon (7:30 a.m. PT), women's triple jump (1:45 p.m. PT), men's 200m prelims (2:35 p.m. PT), women's high jump (2:45 p.m. PT), women's 100m hurdles prelims (3:55 p.m. PT), and the men's 3000m steeplechase finals (4:15 p.m. PT).
