Four Mustangs Advance To NCAA Track and Field Finals At Drake University

EUGENE, Ore. (SMU) – Junior Simone du Toit leads four Mustangs to the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11.

du Toit, who won her third straight Conference USA shot put and discus titles, qualified for the finals in both events. Her first attempt with the discus Saturday, a throw of 51.25 meters, was good enough for 10th at the preliminaries at the University of Oregon, while she threw the shot put 16.33 meters on Thursday to qualify in sixth. du Toit advanced to finish sixth overall in the discus last year.

Both of SMU’s high jumpers advanced to the finals at Drake as freshman Lisa Egarter, who posted the highest jump among C-USA competitors earlier this season, finished in a three-way tie for sixth with a jump of 1.75 meters. Junior Viktoria Leks cleared 1.70 meters to advance in a three-way tie for ninth.

Sophomore Klara Bodinson ran a 10:13.05 to finish 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to advance to the finals, while teammate Silje Fjortoft, who advanced to the NCAA finals in the event last year, was two spots away from qualifying with a 10:16.26.

The Mustangs also had another pair of freshmen and sophomores competing in their first NCAA Championships. Freshman Helena Perez finished 29th in the shot put, while Lovisa Lindh was just over a second away from advancing to the quarterfinals with a 2:09.36 finish in the 800-meter run.

Sophomore Kristine Eikrem-Engeset advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1500-meter run with a personal best 4:23.28, but was unable to qualify for the finals, finishing 16th in the quarterfinals. Fellow sophomore Mary Allenbratt was 26th in the preliminary round, missing advancement by less than one-tenth of a second with a 4:25.07.

Junior Ayla Gill, who holds the top throw in C-USA with a 61.70 meter throw earlier this season, competed in the hammer throw, but failed to advance. The NCAA Championships will take place at Drake University June 8-11.