USC’s Women’s T&F Team Has Strong First Day At The NCAA West Preliminary Rounds

Track & Field | May 25, 2023

Jassani Carter, Caisja Chandler and Samirah Moody advanced in both the 100m and 200m dashes and a dozen USC athletes in all advanced to NCAA quarterfinals Saturday during the first day of the 2023 Women’s NCAA West Preliminary Rounds held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calf.  today (May 25).  In the field events, the top 12 finishers advanced to the NCAA Championships, while you needed to finish in the top 24 in the running events, to advance to the quarterfinals in two days.  On Saturday, the final day for the women’s regional, the top 12 in each event will punch their ticket to nationals.  The 2023 NCAA Track & Field Championships will be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas from June 7-10.

• Jalaysiya Smith won her 100m hurdles heat with a PR of 12.88 (+1.0) to automatically advance to Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinal in the event.  Her time was third among the qualifiers and moved her from ninth to eighth on USC’s all-time list.
• Caisja Chandler, Samirah Moody and Jassani Carter all advanced to the NCAA women’s 100m dash quarterfinal on Saturday.  Chandler had a time of 11.21 (+1.7) to win and Moody a time of 11.24 (+1.7) to place second in the sixth heat to automatically advance.  Carter had a PR of 11.38 (+0.5) to place second in the third heat to also automatically advance.  Chandler was fourth, Moody fifth and Carter 13^th in time among the qualifiers.
• All four of USC’s 400m runners advanced to the quarterfinal on Saturday.  Jan’Taijah Jones won the second heat with a time of 51.38, followed by Yemi John in second with a season-best matching time of 51.77 and Christine M. Mallard in fourth with a time of 51.81.  Jones and John automatically advanced and Mallard claimed to top non-automatic qualifying time.  Bailey Lear took second in the fifth heat with a time of 52.05 to automatically advance.  Jones was eight, John 10^th, Mallard 12^th and Lear 15^th in time among the qualifiers.
• Janiah Brown placed fourth in her heat and 15^th overall in the 800m race with a season-best time of 2:06.29. She advanced to the event quarterfinal on Saturday.
• Moody had a time of 23.09 (+2.1w) to place second in the first women’s 200m heat to automatically advance.  Chandler won the fourth 200m heat with a time of 22.72 (+0.7) to automatically advance. Carter…