Long Beach State University
NCAA West First Round
Powell Breaks School Record to Qualify for NCAA Championships
5/26/2023 8:59:00 PM | Track and Field
Junior Kash Powell made history and qualified for the national championships in a single race.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Kash Powell made history on Friday night qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Austin, Tex. in two weeks highlighting day three of the West Regionals meet for the Beach.
Powell ran a time of 1:47.47 in the first heat of competition in Friday's 800m Quarterfinals. While he finished fifth in his race, the time was ninth fastest of the 24 runners earning him a spot in the NCAA Championships. His time also goes down in the Long Beach State record book as the fastest 800m time in program history beating out the previous best by five-hundredths of a second.
The Australia native is the fourth Beach distance runner to qualify for the outdoor finals in program history and first since Chris Low accomplished the feat back in 2015. It also extends a streak of Long Beach State sending a representative to the outdoor championships for the 19th consecutive year, beginning back in 2004.
Kash is headed to Austin! ??
— LBSU Track/XC (@LBSUTrackXC) May 27, 2023
With a SCHOOL RECORD time of 1:47.47 in the men's 800m, he has qualified for the NCAA Championships in Texas #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/nhw0OVbdgc
Caleb Roberson was the final LBSU competitor in action on the day, running in the first heat of the 400m Hurdles. With a time of 50.70, he was 14th overall putting him two positions and 12-hundredths of a second shy of a qualifying spot.
The sophomore transfer's new PR moves into fifth on the LBSU all-time list and improves his West ranking by seven spots after entering the regionals at number 21.
TJ Wiggins and Sebastian Coleman competed in the 10 a.m. Discus Throw for the first event of the day. Wiggins led the duo with a throw of 53.98m (177-1) just edging out Coleman at 53.55m (175-8). They finished 33rd and 35th overall in the event and were tops among the Big West throwers.
Also in the field was the jumps duo of Novye James and Elijah Harris competing in the Triple Jump. Competing in the second flight, James posted the better mark of the pair finishing seventh in his flight with a mark of 15.26m (50-0.75). In the first flight, Harris jumped 14.74m (48-4.5) to finish seventh. Overall they improved on the west ranking by eight spots and four spots, respectively.
The Beach will be back at Hornet Stadium for the final day of the NCAA West Regionals tomorrow as Ryley Fick (800m, 3000m Steeple), Rahni Turner (100m Hurdles), and Alex Heerink-van Breda (400m Hurdles) will look to punch their tickets to Austin.
Players Mentioned
