SACRAMENTO, Calif. — True freshman Louie Hinchliffe tied a Washington State men’s track and field all-time program record in the 100-meter dash (10.17) to earn a spot in Austin at the NCAA Championships. Hinchliffe’s nationals qualifying time highlighted the third of four days for WSU at the 2023 NCAA West Preliminary Round at Sacramento State University’s Hornet Stadium.
Hinchliffe sat towards the back half of the field after the first 50 meters, but the former 200-meter sprinter closed strong to clock a wind-legal 10.17, tying Anson Henry’s WSU program record set at Mt SAC back in 2002. The native of Sheffield, England joined the Cougs prior to the start of the 2023 Spring semester and already owned the freshman records in both the 60m and 100m before qualifying for finals in his first-career Pac-12 Championships.
Kelvin Limo sat in the top three for the majority of heat two and finished in a new PR at 8:40.22. Friday’s men’s steeplechase saw three fast heats with 23 individuals clocking personal-best times highlighted by Duncan Hamilton of Montana State who ran the fastest time (8:16.23) in the NCAA since Washington State collegiate record holder Henry Rono’s 8:05.40 back in 1978. Sam Griffith improved on his career-best time at the NCAA West Preliminary round after putting up a time of 8:56.73 to finish 11th in the opening heat of the steeplechase.
McAlvey fell off of the lead pace down the final stretch as he finished the 400m hurdles quarterfinal in 52.15, good for a seventh-place finish in the opening heat. Zach Stallings closed the night for the Cougs with a 14:10.51 in his first-career appearance at the West Preliminary round in the men’s 5,000m run.
Up Next:
Saturday’s final day of the West Preliminary Round will begin with the women’s 4X100m relay as the Cougs look to improve on their season-best time of 44.70 set during opening week of the outdoor season. Caroline Jerotich (steeplechase) and Alaina Stone Boggs (5,000m) will make their first appearances of the week while Elena Willems (800m) and Mackenzie Fletcher (400m hurdles) hope to carry momentum from Thursday’s first round as the pair continue their week with the quarterfinal rounds of their respective events.
Any qualifying student-athletes will advance to the NCAA Championships which are scheduled for June 7-10 in Austin,…
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