AUSTIN, Texas – Drake University junior Kai Asberry (Carrollton, Texas) advanced in the men's 400-meter hurdles on the first day of the NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary on Thursday, May 28, at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Asberry advanced on time with the 18th fastest 400-meter hurdle time of the afternoon at 51.95 to finish fourth in his heat. The top three finishers in each of the six heats and the next six fastest times all advanced to Friday's quarterfinal heats. Asberry, who owns a personal best of 51.33, steps back into the blocks on Friday at 7:45 p.m. CDT. The top three finishers in each quarterfinal heat and the next three fastest times advance to next month's NCAA Championships.
Prior to Asberry's race, Virginia Hill (Haymarket, Va.) narrowly missed advancing in the women's 400-meter hurdles. The junior finished 29th in the preliminary heats with a time of 1:00.75 to miss advancing to the quarterfinals by just five places and 44 one-hundreths of a second.
In the last race of the evening, Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) ran his last race as a Bulldog. One of the most decorated athletes in the program's history. Unfortunately, the senior barely missed advancing with a 16th-place finish in 30:33.08. The top 12 finishers in the field advanced to the NCAA Championship.
In addition to Asberry competing on Friday, freshman Mary Young (Urbandale, Iowa) will also compete in the women's 100-meter hurdles at 5 p.m.
NCAA West Preliminary – Austin, Texas
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Drake Results
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles
29. Virginia Hill, 1:00.75
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles
18. Kai Asberry, 51.95
Men's 10,000 Meters
16. Brogan Austin 30:33.08
