Covert And Johnson Punch Ticket To Championships

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Colorado track and field program advanced Emily Covert and India Johnson to the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships here Thursday evening in the women's 10,000-meter semifinal at the NCAA West Preliminaries.
 
The redshirt freshman Covert never fell out of qualifying position in the race, finishing sixth overall in 33:45.65. Johnson, a junior, battled back from the middle of the pack to finish 10th overall in 33:52.44.
 
At the halfway mark in the race, Covert made a move to the front to push the pace, then with 2,000 meters remaining followed a chase pack of eight. By the bell lap she was safely in fifth and cruised to a qualifying spot. Johnson made a similar move, keeping with the chase pack before taking the front of the pack to finish in her qualifying spot. Both women will also run in the women's 5,000-meter run Saturday.
 
Also in the race, true freshman Hannah Miniutti finished 32nd in 34:57.44 while Kaitlyn Barthell finished 40th in 35:57.19.
 
Three other CU women advanced to quarterfinals to keep their NCAA Championships hopes alive. Micaela DeGenero took the top spot in the women's 1,500 heading into Saturday's quarterfinals along with teammate Rachel McArthur who finished 20th.
 
DeGenero took to the front in the second heat and stayed there for the first half of the race. On the final curve she took the lead, then temporarily allowed a runner by her before ultimately taking the final lead in the last 20 meters. Her time of 4:17.78 was the top qualifying time of the afternoon. McArthur was in the final heat and started in around third. She took the lead in the bell lap, fighting a group of five down the backstretch. Around the final curve she held inside position but allowed runners to pass her on the homestretch as she was safely in qualifying position at 4:20.93 seconds.
 
The other woman to advance was Abbey Glynn also advanced in the women's 400-meter hurdles, finishing third in her heat for an automatic qualifier spot and 16th overall in 58.04 seconds. Her teammate Emma Pollak finished 35th in 59.79 seconds. Both women will be in the 4x400-meter relay Saturday.
 
The day started out with Avery McMullen doubling in the women's 100-meter hurdles and women's long jump. The sophomore didn't have much time between the two events as she was in the last heat of the women's hurdles when the third heat of the long jump began. McMullen ran 13.95 in the hurdles to finish 43rd overall and jumped 5.96 meters (19-6.75) on her third and final jump to finish 30th in the long jump.
 
The sophomore was the first Buff with a ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, having qualified as the 20th-best heptathlete in the NCAA. She opted out of the women's high jump that she was also qualifying for on Saturday in the West Preliminaries.
 
The final two days of the NCAA West Preliminaries are set with six men and a relay competing Friday along with 10 women and a relay on Saturday. Tomorrow will begin with Noah Bouchard in the men's high jump at 2:30 p.m. MT, followed by Tyler Williams and Aaron McCoy in the 400 and 400 hurdle quarterfinals, respectfully. Eduardo Herrera, Andrew Kent and Charlie Sweeney will all race the 5,000-meter semifinal before Williams, McCoy, Ian Gilmore, Garrett Nelson and/or Kellen Monestime finish the meet out with the 4x400-meter relay.
 
Four former Buffs will also be in action tomorrow at Hayward Field in the USATF 10,000 Championships. Olympian Joe Klecker, Maddie Alm, Carrie Verdon and Makena Morley will all be seeking a top-three result to join Team USA back in Hayward Field in July for the 2022 World Athletics Championships.