LYNCHBURG, Va.- Kicking off the action at the 2019-20 NJCAA Indoor National Championships, the Beavers competed mostly in today's preliminary heats. As has been the common theme of this season, Pratt's athletes proved yet again why the Beavers are among the elite groups in junior college athletics.
Four of Pratt's men and women qualified for tomorrow's final rounds, including Kadesha Prescott, Warren Williams, Michael Hudson, and Che Lara. The Beavers also saw one of their own claim All-American status.
CJ Hill, the Beavers lone long jumper, ended his 2019-20 season as an All-American. His last official jump was his best of the year, leaping for 7.26m. Hill finished sixth in the event.
Prescott, running in the 60m dash, finished with a time of 7.47 seconds, solidifying a place in tomorrow's final round. Prescott finished sixth in a field of 46 runners, grabbing the last available position in tomorrow's championship run. Patricia Brown finished 20th with a time of 7.75 seconds, while Nikesha Pierre was flagged for a false start. The three women also ran in the 200m dash, though none qualified for tomorrow's final round.
Williams placed seventh in the men's 60m hurdles, clocking in at 8.06 seconds, good for qualification into tomorrow's final run. Marvin Jean-Francois and Braylon Harrington competed alongside Williams in the event, finishing 20th and 23rd, respectively.
Three Beaver men ran in the 60m dash, including Hudson, Jamaal Morris, and Jamhad Booth. Hudson was among five runners to clock in at 6.76 seconds, though looking under the microscope, Hudson's more precise finish of 6.752 finished ahead of Barton's Jhonny Renteria (6.755) and Butler's Caleb Jackson (6.758), granting him access to tomorrow morning's final go. Morris (6.80) and Booth (6.88) placed 14th and 21st, respectively.
Lara, competing in the 400m dash, timed in at 48.34 seconds, good for a sixth place finish and a place in Saturday's final round. Mark Emilien finished 21st in the event with a time of 49.59 seconds.
The Beavers will again compete on the campus of Liberty University tomorrow morning, with events starting at 8:30 AM CST. Follow the action live here.