EUGENE, Ore. (6/7/17) – Junior thrower Cristian Ravar Ladislau secured All-America honors in hammer throw and junior sprinter Jaylen Bacon earned a spot in the finals of the 100-meter and 200-meter dash in action for Arkansas State University track and field athletes at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Ravar Ladislau, making his debut at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finished 16th in the hammer throw. He fouled on his first attempt, but posted a throw of 65.33m (214-4) on his second attempt. His third attempt reached 64.08m (210-3). By way of a 16th place finish, Ravar Ladislau earns Second Team All-America honors, the first hammer thrower in program history to achieve that feat.
“It was a good day for Cristian as this was his first national meet and he was ranked 20th coming in,” said A-State head coach Jim Patchell. “It's a great tribute to the work he and Coach Kraft have put in to finish 16th and earn second team All-America honors.”
Bacon ran in the semifinals for both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes on Wednesday. After a false start interrupted the race, Bacon flashed a time of 10.02 seconds to finish second in the heat and automatically advance to Friday's 8:22 p.m. (CT) 100-meter dash final.
In his 200-meter semifinal, Bacon posted a time of 20.39 seconds to finish third in the second heat. With that third place finish in the heat, Bacon awaited the times in the third and final heat to be assured of a spot in Friday's 9:07 p.m. (CT) final.
“Jaylen did his job today and advanced in both the 100 and 200,” said Patchell. “He's got a couple of things to work out before the final, but we accomplished what was needed today in qualifying.”
By qualifying for the final in both the 100 and 200-meter dash, Bacon becomes the first student-athlete in program history to earn First Team All-America honors in two events at one NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships.
A-State will have senior thrower Erin Farmer in action on Thursday at 8:40 p.m. (CT). The event will be live streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. The remaining schedule for the school-record six athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships is below.
A-State Schedule at NCAA Outdoor Championships
Wednesday, June 7
Cristian Ravar Ladislau | Hammer Throw | 65.33m (214-4) | 16th (2nd Team All-America)
Jaylen Bacon | 100-meter Dash | 10.02 | 5th (Advance to Final)
Jaylen Bacon | 200-meter Dash | 20.39 | 8th (Advance to Final)
Thursday, June 8
8:40 PM (CT) – Erin Farmer | Shot Put | Flight 2 of 2
Friday, June 9
7:00 PM (CT) – Tiaan Steenkamp | High Jump | Flight 1 of 1
8:22 PM (CT) – Jaylen Bacon | 100-meter Dash | TBD
9:07 PM (CT) – Jaylen Bacon | 200-meter Dash | TBD
Saturday, June 10
5:05 PM (CT) – Calea Carr | Discus Throw | Flight 1 of 2
5:40 PM (CT) – Viktoriia Sadokhina | Triple Jump | Flight 1 of 2