Decoud, Johnson And Hearn Qualify For NCAA National Championships Meet

AUSTIN, Texas – Three individuals for the Texas State track and field teams qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships meet during Memorial Day weekend at the NCAA West Preliminaries meet held at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Making the trip to Eugene, Oregon in just under two weeks will be Chelsie Decoud (high jump), Mylana Hearn (triple jump) and T’Mond Johnson (shot put). It will be the second straight trip for Decoud and Hearn.

“Overall, we had strong performances throughout the meet. We’re excited to have both Chelsie and Mylana return to Eugene, and equally excited for T’Mond and his first appearance at the National Championships and knowing there is more to come,” said Jody Stewart, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. “Our student-athletes competed extremely well and we are proud of all of their efforts.”

Both Decoud and Johnson qualified on the second day of competition.

Johnson was the first Bobcat to punch a ticket thanks to a massive toss of 18.80m (61-8.25) on his third and final attempt of the shot put competition to finish seventh.

The distance also ranks in the top three in school history.

Decoud struggled early needing all third attempts at the second and third heights after passing on the first.

She cleared 1.79m (5-10.5) on her second try to finish sixth and assure herself of a second straight trip to the National Championships meet.

Hearn became the third TXST athlete to qualify when she recorded a personal best leap of 13.09m (42-11.5) on her second attempt in the triple jump on Saturday.

Her distance also ranks in the top five in program history.

On the first day of competition, Tramesha Hardy finished third in her heat to earn of the three automatic qualifying spots to the quarterfinals in the 100m.

She completed the race in a career best 11.29, a personal best time and 0.02 shy of matching the school record.

Lincoln Warren also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 400m with a third place finish with a time of 47.12.

In the women’s long jump, Abby Hani just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a 13 place finish. She leapt 6.25m (20-6.25) on her final attempt.

The mark does rank in the top 10 in program history.

Saturday saw Courtney Johnson barely miss out on a trip to Eugene in the high jump. She cleared the first three heights on the first attempt but was unable to get over the bar at 1.79m.

The junior headed to a jump off with six other competitors for the final two qualifying spots.

She lasted until the final four but was unable clear the bar to force a fifth round of the jump off and finished in a tie for 13th place.

Also on the field, Julie Lange finished 21st with a mark of 51.52m (169-0) in the discus.

Both Hardy and Warren were unable to achieve one of the championship positions in the 100m and 400m dashes, respectively.

Hardy finished in 11.42 to claim 17th and Warren crossed the line in 46.68 for 22nd. Both times rank in the top 10 in TXST history.

Hardy returned to the track for the first round of the 200m and clocked a school record time of 22.92 to finish third in the heat and advance to the quarterfinals.

To start the final day of competition, Alvin Chikaeze finished 17th in the men’s triple jump. He uncorked a jump of 15.61m (51-2.75) on his first attempt that ranks in the top 10 in school history.

During the first heat of the men’s 4x100m relay, the team of Cody Schulz, Dexter Lee, De’Marcus Porter and Warren broke the school record with a time of 39.76 to place 15th overall.

Hardy nearly just missed out on punching her ticket to Eugene in the 200m. The sophomore finished fourth in the opening heat in 23.04, the second quickest in program history.

Her time, however, was just shy of earning one of the three wildcard spots as the Houston native finished 14th.

The men’s 4x400m relay team of Gilson Umunnakwe, Lee, Porter and Warren ended the meet with a 19th place finish crossing the finishing line in a season best time of 3:08.59.

Decoud, T. Johnson and Hearn will compete at the NCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships June 7-10 at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Live results and video will be available and can be found on the Bobcats’ schedule page and the meet championship central page.

Final Results: http://txstatebobcats.com/documents/2017/5/28/ncaawest2017_fullresults.pdf