MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Freshman Joy Naukot of West Virginia University secured her place at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by finishing eighth in the women’s 10,000 meters at the NCAA East First Rounds on Thursday night.
Naukot completed the race in 32:51.33 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, inside Jax Track. Her strong performance earned her a spot at the national championship. She is now the seventh Mountaineer in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter event.
Sophomore Kishay Rowe also competed in the first round of the 800 meters, setting a personal best of 2:03.98. Rowe finished 22nd overall, narrowly missing the final by just 0.02 seconds.
The Mountaineers will continue competing at the NCAA East First Rounds on Saturday. The events start at 2:30 p.m. ET with the high jump. West Virginia athletes will also take part in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 5:40 p.m. and the 5,000 meters at 8:10 p.m.