USC Women Advance Two Individuals & Two Relays To NCAA T&F Finals

Track & Field | June 08, 2023

USC’s Caisja Chandler in the 200m, Jan’Taijah Jones in the 400m and both relays qualified for event finals during the first day of the 2023 Women’s NCAA Track & Field Championships held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas today (June 8). 

• The women’s 4x100m relay team of Caisja Chandler, Samirah Moody, Jan’Taijah Jones and Jassani Carter opened the day by placing second in its semifinal heat with a season-best time of 42.88 to automatically advance to the event final on Saturday.   That time moved the quartet to seventh on USC’s all-time list in the event.  USC posted the fifth-fastest time among the qualifiers to the final.
• Jones ran a PR of 50.31 in her 400m semifinal heat to place third and advance fourth overall to the final on Saturday.  She had the top non-automatic qualifying time.  Jones also bettered her second-place standing on USC’s all-time list.  Yemi John had a time of 51.42 to take fourth in the same heat and finish 12^th overall.  Bailey Lear took third in the second heat with a time of 51.55 and placed 13^th overall.  The three Trojans occupied the three non-automatic qualifying spots until the last semifinal heat.   John and Lear earned second-team All-America honors.
• Chandler ran a 200m PR of 22.37 (+0.8) to win her semifinal heat to automatically advance to the final on Saturday with the third-fastest time among the qualifiers.  She also bettered her fourth-place standing on USC’s all-time list.  Carter took sixth in the same heat with a PR of 22.77 (+0.8).  She finished 11^th overall to earn second-team All-America honors.  Moody had a time of 23.07 (+0.5) to finish fifth in her semifinal heat and 18^th overall to earn All-America honorable mention standing.
• Chandler placed sixth in the first 100m semifinal with a time of 11.23 (-0.1).  She finished 15^th overall to earn second-team All-America honors.  Moody placed fifth in the third semifinal heat with a time of 11.33 (-0.1).  She finished 19^th overall to earn All-America honorable mention.
• The Trojan 4x400m relay team of Lear, Christine M. Mallard, John and Jones closed out the day’s action by winning its semifinal heat with a time of 3:27.88 to automatically advance to the final on Saturday.  USC’s time was third among the qualifiers and moved them to 10^th on USC’s…