Track & Field has Three in Action at Second Day of NCAA Championships
KINGSVILLE, Texas (May 24, 2019) – For the Franklin Pierce University track & field program, it was three Ravens in action on Friday, at the second day of the NCAA Championships, hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville, at Javelina Stadium. It would be one Raven who earned All-America honors, one Raven who is now assured of All-America plaudits on Saturday, and one Raven who narrowly missed All-America accolades.
The All-America honors went to freshman sensation Paola Brena (Queretaro, Mexico), who competed in the high jump and avenged her performance at the indoor championships, where she failed to clear the opening height. On Friday, she cleared the opening height of 1.64 meters on her first attempt and then needed a pair of attempts to get up and over 1.69 meters, before bowing out at 1.73 meters. Brena was one of 12 competitors – in a 20-jumper field – to clear 1.69 meters. By virtue of tiebreakers, which take into account how many attempts an athlete takes to clear each height, Brena finished in a tie for eighth with Ashland junior Ellie Jindra, which was good enough for All-America First Team honors.
Later in the day, it was senior CeCe Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) who assured herself of earning All-America honors on Saturday. On Friday, she competed in the preliminary heats of the 100-meter hurdles, where she ran in the second of three heats. The top two finishers in each heat qualify directly to the final, where they are joined by the next two-fastest runners overall.
Telfer made sure to nab one of the automatic qualifying spots out of the second heat, as she placed second, with a time of 13.49 seconds, just a shade off the 13.37-second time of the heat winner, Lindenwood senior Erin Hodge. After the conclusion of the three heats, Telfer's time stood as the fifth-fastest qualifying time to Saturday's final. Pittsburg State senior Courtney Nelson posted the event's fastest time on Friday, with a run of 12.99 seconds.
Telfer will have a fellow Northeast-10 Conference student-athlete in the final with her on Saturday. Southern Connecticut State senior Briana Burt took an at-large qualifying spot out of the first heat, with a time of 13.77 seconds, which ranked seventh overall.
Between the high jump and the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Hugo Arlabosse (Marseille, France) represented Franklin Pierce's men's team in the preliminary heats of the 800 meters, where he narrowly missed out on All-America accolades. He took the track in the first of three heats, with the same qualifying structure for the final as mentioned above for the 100-meter hurdles. Arlabosse was fourth through much of the opening lap of the six-athlete heat, but was able to battle back to a third-place finish, with a run of 1:55.04.
Unfortunately, the following two heats would run faster, which ultimately left Arlabosse in 13th and unable to advance to Saturday's final. Arlabosse ultimately missed out on 12th place, which would have earned him All-America Second Team honors, by 0.54 seconds.
Telfer will conclude Franklin Pierce's participation in the NCAA Championships on Saturday, as she will compete in the final of a pair of hurdles events. The 100-meter hurdles final is scheduled for 6:55 p.m. (all times EDT), followed by the final in the 400-meter hurdles at 8:20 p.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce track and field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).