Palmer Punches Ticket to Oregon

Friday, May 27

Jacksonville, Fla.

All Day

Pitt

NCAA East Preliminary

5/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

May 27, 2016

Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Junior Desmond Palmer will return to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the 400 meter hurdles after earning an automatic qualifying spot, thanks for a third-place finish in his heat.

"Although a few of our athletes had a tough day today, it wasn't for the lack of effort," head coach Alonzo Webb said. "I'm so proud of each of them for getting this far. There were a couple of bright spots, Desmond began the day by qualifying for the quarterfinals tomorrow in the 110 hurdles and followed that up later in the day by securing an automatic spot to Eugene in the 400 hurdles. I'm looking forward to watching senior Racquel Williams in the shot put, freshman Gillian Schriever and senior Hillary Boxheimer compete in the 5,000 meter race as well as our men's 4x400 meter relay team tomorrow."

This time last year, Palmer just barely earned a trip to Eugene in the 400 meter hurdles. This year, he finished third in the second heat, earning an automatic bid to the national championship with a time of 50.22. His time was also sixth best of the 24 total competitors.

Earlier in the day, Palmer took second place out of heat five after going 14.09 in the 110 meter hurdles. His top time automatically qualifies him for Saturday's quarterfinals, which are set to begin at 7:20 p.m. The top 12 times will head to Oregon.

Senior Chris Tate fell short in the quarterfinals of the 400 meter dash, finishing seventh in the first heat of three with a time of 46.98.

In men's javelin, Grant Jones concluded his freshman campaign with a mark of 58.37 meters.

Sophomore Kelly Hayes ran a 10:46.28 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in the final event for the Panthers this evening. Her time wouldn't be enough to advance her to Oregon.

Senior Racquel Williams will get things started for the Panthers in shot put tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in the final day of competition. Also competing tomorrow will be Palmer in the quarterfinals of the 110 meter hurdles at 7:20 p.m., followed by the men's 4x400 meter relay in the final event of the night at 9:45 p.m.

Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the weekend.