JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Michigan State track & field’s John Petruno qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500m on the third day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Florida, marking the third-straight day a Spartan has qualified to the national championships.
Petruno, who qualifies for his second-straight NCAA Championship in the 1500m, used a strong kick in the final 100 meters to place fifth for the final auto-qualifying spot in his heat. The graduate student will look to earn his second-career All-America honor at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, in two weeks after collecting Second-Team honors in 2022.
Petruno joins Heath Baldwin (decathlon), Ryan Talbot (decathlon), Trevor Stephenson (pole vault) and Opal Jackson (shot put) as one of five Spartans to punch their ticket to Austin.
In the men’s 400m hurdles quarterfinals Friday evening, senior Kendel Hammock capped off a breakout season in the Green & White with a time of 53.23 to finish 23rd. Prior to Friday’s race, Hammock set three-straight personal bests en route to his first NCAA East Preliminary Round appearance.
Michigan State wraps up the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round on Saturday, May 27, where Katie Osika (1500m – 5:15 p.m.), Lauren Freeland (1500m) and Kate Stewart-Barnett (3000m steeplechase – 5:40 p.m.) will look to earn their first-career NCAA Championship berths. Live results will be available on MSUSpartans.com with streaming on ESPN+.
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