SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Reyte Rash and John Clifford each qualified for the quarterfinals of their respective events Wednesday at the NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento.
Rash finished third in the first heat of the men's 400m hurdles to automatically qualify for the quarterfinal round, running a school-record time of 50.76. The senior from Riverside bested his own school record of 50.95 set two weeks ago at The Big West Championships. Rash finished 14th overall after all six heats had been run.
Clifford placed sixth in a considerably fast fourth heat of the men's 100m, running a wind-legal personal-best time of 10.40. He had to wait until all six heats had been run to find out he was moving on to the quarterfinals, running one of the six fastest times excluding the top-three finishers of each heat. He finished 22nd overall. Clifford's time is a top-five mark in program history.
Christian Wood narrowly missed an NCAA Championships-qualifying mark in the men's long jump, placing 20th with a 7.44m. The top-12 finishers in the event advanced to the finals in Austin, Texas, with the 12th-place competitor posting a mark of 7.63m.
The Titans boasted three qualifying competitors in the men's 110m hurdles in Matthew Uballe, Carter Birade and Abel Jordan. Jordan finished 36th with a time of 14.15, while Carter Birade placed 42nd with a 14.32. Uballe, Fullerton's current school-record holder in the event, did not compete due to injury. The top-24 finishers advanced to the quarterfinals.
Fullerton also had three qualifying competitors in the men's pole vault, including Samuel Heinrichs, Ernesto Collazo and Daniel Palacio. Heinrichs narrowly missed out on a top-12 qualifying spot, placing 17th with a mark of 5.20m. Collazo tied for 26th place with a 5.05m, while Palacio did not post a clearance mark.
Rash and Clifford will compete on Friday, May 26th, in the quarterfinal round of their respective events in Sacramento for a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
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