MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior Amy Cashin of the West Virginia University track and field team set a school record, while punching her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene on the second day of the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round on Friday, in Lexington, Kentucky.
On the second day, Cashin and senior Megan Yuan represented the Mountaineers in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday at Kentucky’s Outdoor Track and Field Complex.
A native of Werribee, Australia, Cashin had an impressive performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as she placed sixth with a WVU record of 10:01.19, while punching her ticket to the national championships in Eugene, Oregon. Cashin bested alum Sarah Martinelli’s previous record of 10:05.27 set in 2014.
“Amy was simply spectacular tonight,” coach Sean Cleary said. “Amy started the season at 10:42 and whittled this time down to a new WVU record of 10:01. Amy's tactics were spot on as she emerged from dead last after a few laps to nail down the automatic qualifying position over the final 600 meters. A school record and a spot in the national finals. This has been the goal since last May.”
Cashin is the first Mountaineer this weekend to claim a bid to the NCAA Championships on June 7-10.
Yuan concluded her collegiate track and field career at WVU, finishing 34th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:39.19.
“Megan finished off a career that saw her help guide teams to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in addition to garnering three All-Big 12 Track awards,” said Cleary. “Two times she qualified for the NCAA Track Championships including tonight. While we were wanting tonight's race to be more rewarding to Meg, we are very proud that she qualified for this prestigious event.”
Yesterday, sophomore Danique Bryan, redshirt sophomore Madelin Gardner and redshirt junior Maggie Drazba opened the first day of competition for the Mountaineers.
The final day of the East Prelims wrap up on Saturday with Bryan and junior Shamoya McNeil in the women’s triple jump at 6 p.m. ET.
Bryan will compete in her second event on Saturday in the triple jump. The Clarendon, Jamaica, native, qualified after setting a WVU record in the triple jump of 13.68 meters (44’-10 ¾”) at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship. Bryan bested WVU alum Christine Brown’s 13.20-meter mark (43’-3 ¾”) set in 2001.
McNeil also will compete in the triple jump as she qualified with a career-best and second-best all-time of 13.21 meters (43’-04 ¼”) at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, also beating Christine Brown’s record.
Fans can follow the event live at
ncaa.com. ESPN is also providing live coverage of various events on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Additional updates and information will be available on Twitter.
Out of the 48 qualifiers of the East and West regions, those who place in the top-12 in their events will advance to the NCAA Championships on June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon.
