CAMBRIDGE, MA (May 18, 2023) -- The Tufts University women's track and field squad had five student-athletes in action on Thursday afternoon at the MIT Final Qualifier at George Steinbrenner Track, as the outdoor season came to an end prior to the announcement of the NCAA Championship qualifiers in the coming days.
All times and marks were required to be in by tonight to be selected for the NCAA Championships, and the Jumbos sent five competitors over MIT for action looking to improve their standing on the NCAA Performance List. The top 22 athletes in each event get invitations to the NCAA Championships.
Tufts graduate student pole vaulter
Kelsie Hao picked up the win in the women's pole vault, as she cleared the bar at 3.63 meters to pick up the win. The mark wasn't enough to improve her previous season best of 3.85 meters at the Tufts Snowflake Classic, but she still sits in a strong spot at ninth in the nation.
Sarah Firth was third in the pole vault on Thursday with a height of 3.48 meters, but still sits in 19th place and looks strong for a spot in the NCAA Championships after recording a mark of 3.75 earlier in the year.
Both
Jen Rotti and
Jordan Andrew competed in the long and triple jump at MIT, and
Jen Rotti finished fourth in the long jump after posting a distance of 5.19 meters. Andrew took fifth place after recording a jump of 5.15 meters on her fifth attempt.
In the triple jump, Andrew just missed her season-best jump as she took third with a leap of 11.33 meters. Rotti was fifth in the triple jump after flying to a distance of 11.11 meters.
Elizabeth Graham also competed in the women's hammer throw, posting a new personal-best throw of 43.98 meters to take sixth place overall. It was the 10th best throw in program history.
As it stands now, Tufts'
Hannah Neilon is eighth in the 800 meters and 22nd in the 1500 meters, while
Jaidyn Appel is the top seed in the high jump going to the NCAA Championships. Hao is ninth in the nation in the pole vault and eighth in the long jump, while
Lia Rotti ranks sixth in the long jump and third in the triple jump.
Selections will be announced Friday afternoon on NCAA.com, as the NCAA Championships will be held at Polisseni Track and Field Complex in Rochester, NY on the campus of St. John Fisher University.
--JUMBOS--
