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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Senior Chelsea Shapard advanced to the semifinal round of the 400-meter hurdles and junior Sarah Grimm finished one spot shy of qualifying for the event's final round Wednesday while representing the University of Utah track & field team in the first day of the NCAA Championships at John McDonnell Field on the University of Arkansas campus.
"We are happy that Chelsea survived and moved on to tomorrow's semifinal," Utah head coach Kyle Kepler said. "She did not have a particularly good start but came on strong during the last three hurdles. We're excited for tomorrow's race where we don't have to be concerned with time. All Chelsea is focused on is finishing in the top four of the heat and moving onto the final to earn All-American honors."
Shapard turned in a time a 400-meter hurdle time of 58.33 seconds to place 14th overall and third in the fifth heat of the first round.
In the semifinal round of the hammer throw, Grimm finished fives inches short of qualifying for the Friday's final round with a mark of 187'8" on her second throw of the competition. The Salt Lake City, Utah native finished in 13th place overall.
"It was a close call for Sarah. She barely got edged out," Kepler said. "She just missed moving onto the final round, but we're happy that she improved on the ranking that she came into the meet with. It was her first time in this meet and we're pleased with how she handled the pressure."
Shapard will compete in tomorrow's 400-meter hurdle semifinal race at 6:45 p.m. CT. The top four athletes from each semifinal heat plus the next best time will advance to the final race on Friday at 7:55 p.m. CT.
(Courtesy U of U)
