Desmond Palmer Hurdles His Way to Two NCAA Finals

Wednesday, June 7

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

Pitt

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Desmond Palmer Hurdles His Way to Two NCAA Finals

6/7/2017 1:29:00 PM | Track & Field

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Pitt Senior to Compete in Pair of NCAA Title Races Friday Night

EUGENE, Ore.--Wednesday night couldn't have gone any better for Pitt hurdler Desmond Palmer. The senior secured his spot in two Friday night finals at the 2017 NCAA Championships at Oregon's Hayward Field, advancing as a top-eight qualifier in both the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.

In doing so, Palmer earned the second and third first-team All-America honors of his amazing Pitt career, adding to his eighth-place finish in the 400 hurdles at the 2015 NCAA Championships.

"I was really happy to advance in both of my events here," Palmer said. "I had a very fast start in the 110 hurdles and told myself not to waste it; I kept competing hard and my time was good enough to advance. I thought I could've ran a faster time in the 400 hurdles, but I finished strong and took one of the automatic-qualifying spots, which was my goal going into the race."

Pitt track & field head coach Alonzo Webb heaped praise on Palmer, the first Panther student-athlete to reach two individual finals at the NCAA Championships since he took over the program in 2002.

"This was an absolutely remarkable achievement by Desmond tonight," said Webb. "He ran a fantastic first race (in the 110-meter hurdles) then competed and finished well to advance in the 400. His goal at the beginning of the season was to final at NCAAs in both events, so it was special to see him achieve that goal after witnessing all of the hard work he has put in over the last four years. We can't wait to watch him race two more times on Friday night."

In his first career NCAA appearance in the 110-meter hurdles, Palmer posted a lifetime best of 13.50 - a full two-tenths-of-a-second better than his previous personal record - to qualify for Friday night's final in the event. Palmer placed fourth in Heat 1, but his sensational time was good enough to earn the eighth and final qualifying spot to compete for a national title at 9:12 p.m. on Friday on ESPN.

About an hour later, Palmer surged past 2016 United States Olympian Byron Robinson from Texas, one of the favorites in the event, in the final 100 meters to place second in Heat 3 of the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.42, which booked another Friday night final berth for the Pitt senior. Palmer will be one of eight athletes with a chance at a national title in the 400 hurdles at 9:57 p.m. on Friday on ESPN.

Looking to build on Palmer's success from the opening day of one of the world's best track meets, the Panthers have a busy Thursday of action scheduled at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

Andi Fosam will make her first appearance at NCAAs, competing in the hammer throw competition that will begin at 5 p.m. ET and be shown on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

On the track in the evening session, Gillian Schriever will race in the final of the 10,000 meters at approximately 10:08 p.m. on ESPN2 and the WatchESPN app.

Immediately after that on ESPN2, Pitt's 4x400-meter relay team of Morgan Harvey, Quadaisha Newkirk, Danielle Leaks and Desiree Garland will cap the evening by racing in the first heat of that event's semifinals, looking to earn a berth in Saturday night's final event of the 2017 NCAA Championships.