Texas Tech track and field freshman Juliette Cherbet qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in two events Saturday, while teammate Rosemary Chukwuma recorded the eighth-fastest women’s 100-meter sprint in NCAA history.
Their performance was the highlight of the Tech women’s team on the final day of the four-day NCAA West Regional Qualifiers in Fayetteville, Ark. It was a stellar day for the Red Raiders, who placed 13th in seven individual events and one relay event to advance to the national tournament.
The Tech girls had three qualifiers in each of the 100 meters and triple jump, and two each in the high jump and 100 meter hurdles.
The NCAA Championships will be held June 5-8 in Eugene, Oregon.
Cherbet set the facilities record in the women’s 1500 meters, circling the John McDonnell Field Track in 4 minutes 9.04 seconds. Christine Wirth-Thomas set the previous record of 4 minutes 12.70 seconds in 2008 when she reached the Olympic finals.
Cervet then competed in the 5,000 metres and placed eighth in 16 minutes, 1.65 seconds.
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Chukwuma broke the school record in the 100 meters, clocking 10.88 seconds in legal wind to finish second overall. She broke the 2024 Olympic qualifying standard of 11.07 seconds, making her the second-fastest Nigerian female runner of all time behind former Texas Tech volunteer assistant and master’s degree student Blessing Okagbare.
Earlier, Chukwuma anchored the Red Raiders’ 400-meter relay, which qualified first and placed third overall. The foursome – Serena Clark, Success Umukoro, Alyssa Colbert and Chukwuma – swung the baton in 42.77 seconds, the second-fastest time in Tech history.
At the Eastern Regional Meet in Lexington, Kentucky, and the Western Regional Meet in Fayetteville, Kentucky, 48 runners competed in the individual events at each venue, with 12 qualifying in Eugene. Joining Chukwuma in the 100m were Colbert, who used the wind to her advantage in a time of 11.03 to place sixth overall, and Umukoro, who finished ninth overall in a personal best time of 11.09.
In the triple jump, Anne Susanna Foster Katta, Ruta Lasmane and Grace Oshiokpu placed fourth, fifth and 12th with times of 45 feet 4 1/2 inches, 45 feet 2 1/2 inches and 43 feet 11 3/4 inches, all in regulation wind speed. Foster Katta and Oshiokpu’s times were personal records for the French senior and the Nigerian freshman.
In the high jump, Tech freshmen Temitope Adesina and Claire Rowley both cleared 6 feet, 0 1/2 inches when the competition ended with 12 qualifiers remaining.
Other competitors for Tech were Zoe Burleson, who placed ninth in the discus (187-10), and Destiny Smith and Naomi Krebs, who took 11th and 12th place in the wind-aided 100-meter hurdles in times of 13.03 and 13.13, respectively.
