SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Three Sun Devils punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and another two advanced to regional finals, Thursday at the first day of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento, California.
 
It didn't take long for the Sun Devils to grab a place in the championship meet as Seri Geisler advanced out of the West Region in the first event of the day.
 
The Sun Devil school record-holder finished third overall in the javelin with a throw of 54.44m/179-9 feet to earn a spot in her first NCAA Championship. While the NCAA stage may be new to the redshirt junior, the big stage isn't. She recently took second at the Pac-12 Championships in the javelin and won the NJCAA title in the event two years ago.
 
ASU sent one man to Austin, Texas, Thursday as Derrick Monroe finished in the top-12 to guarantee his first championship appearance in his final collegiate season. The Sun Devil senior took 11th in the long jump and was one of three men on the day to finish with marks of 7.51m/24-7.75 feet.
 
With Monroe heading to Mike A. Myers Stadium next month, the Sun Devils will send both genders to the outdoor championship meet for the first time since 2017.
 
Both Geisler and Monroe will be making their first NCAA Championship appearances next month, but the final ticket punched to Austin Thursday was a return trip for Beatrice Llano.
 
Her best throw on the day got her eighth-place in the competition, but the 2017 All-American in the hammer throw will head to the Lone Star State with best PR in the field thanks to her 71.43m/234-4-foot throw that sits in seventh in NCAA history from earlier this season.
 
On the track, Bianca Tinoco and William Paulson both advanced to Saturday finals in the women's and men's 1,500-meter runs, respectively.
 
Tinoco hit the track first and finished eighth in her heat in 4:21.33. Although she took eighth, her section ended up being the fastest of the day, and she held onto the final qualifying place to move within one race of advancing to the national meet for the first time in her Sun Devil career.
 
Paulson didn't have to wait on the result of the other races because he lined up for the fourth and final section of the 1,500-meter prelim, and ended up finishing in third to automatically clinch a place in Saturday's final.

Paulson is seeking his third-straight outdoor championship berth in the 1,500, but his path to the national semifinal will be different this season as he runs in the West Region for the first time in his collegiate career.
 
Day two of the Prelims will see the Sun Devils compete in seven more events, including the men's and women's discus, men's javelin, men's 110-meter hurdles, women's 100-meter hurdles and the men's and women's 200.

Results will be provided by Flash Results and a live stream can be watched on FloTrack with a valid subscription.
 
 
 
 
 
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds | May 23, 2019 | Sacramento, California
 
 
Women's Results
 
100 Meters First Round
42. Nia Brown – 11.90
 
1,500 Meters First Round
23. Bianca Tinoco – 4:21.33q
 
Javelin Throw
3. Seri Geisler – 54.44m/179-9q
38. Jessica Barreira – 42.45m/139-3
39. Cerah Moren – 42.32m/138-10
 
Hammer Throw
8. Beatrice Llano – 61.97m/203-3q
30. Kaylee Antill – 58.07m/190-6
 
Long Jump
17. Jessica Barreira – 6.04m/19-9.75
 
Men's Results
 
1,500 Meters First Round
6. William Paulson – 3:44.70Q
 
Long Jump
11. Derrick Monroe – 7.51m/24-7.75q
 
Pole Vault
15. Matthew Eckles – 5.21m/17-1.00
39. Michael Chadwick – 4.81m/15-9.25