Stephenson Punches Ticket to Oregon on the First Day of NCAA East Prelims

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Pole vaulter Trevor Stephenson secured a spot at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon for the second-straight year, as the Michigan State track and field team wrapped up the first day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round on Wednesday at the Haugh Track & Field Complex in Bloomington, Indiana.

Stephenson became the first Spartan this week to punch their ticket to the NCAA Finals in an individual event, joining decathletes Ryan Talbot and Heath Baldwin, who were announced last week as part of the top-24 decathlon qualifiers for the national meet.

Stephenson skipped the first bar (4.89m) in the men's pole vault and was able to clear 5.04m on his second attempt, before vaulting 5.19m on his first try and making the 5.29m bar on his third attempt. A rain delay paused the competition for almost two hours, but Stephenson then cleared the 5.39m height on his first vault out of the break, solidifying his spot among the 12 East Regional qualifiers for the NCAA finals in Eugene.

In the men's 1500m, John Petruno used a late kick to hold onto fourth place in Heat No. 3, finishing with a 3:43.61 time that moved him onto Friday's quarterfinals. Petruno's heat ended up producing the top seven times in the East Region, led by South Carolina's Anass Essayi running a 3:41.81.

Joshua DeVries opened the day for MSU with the men's hammer throw by faulting on his first two tosses, but he recorded a 58.79m on his third attempt to end up 38th, missing out on a trip to the NCAA finals.

The men's 400m saw Terrence Muex finish strong in the final stretch, but his sixth-place time of 47.80 in the second heat put him 39th overall, missing the cut to advance to Friday's final.

Michigan State continues action on Thursday, May 26, starting with Quiara Wheeler in the women's hammer throw at 10 a.m., while Sophia Franklin will follow in the women's pole vault at 1:30 p.m. Jaiden Paris is set to start the women's 100m hurdles at 2 p.m., with the women's 1500m trio beginning at 2:30 p.m. Rounding out the day with three more Spartan women entered, the women's 10,000m semifinal is now slated for 5:10 p.m.

Follow @MSU_TFXC on Twitter for weather updates at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.

Stephenson Punches Ticket to Oregon on the First Day of NCAA East Prelims

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Players Mentioned

Heath Baldwin

Joshua DeVries

Sophia Franklin

Tee Muex

Jaiden Paris

John Petruno

Trevor Stephenson

Ryan Talbot

Quiara Wheeler