May 27, 2006
AUSTIN (SMU) - The SMU women's track and field team had three student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships this weekend by posting strong showings at the fourth-annual NCAA Midwest Regional at the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium on the University of Texas campus. High jumper Gaelle Niare, runner Rachael Forish and javelin thrower Andrea Kvetova will all now move on to the Championships, June 7-10, in Sacramento, Calif.
Niare took second in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.90m. She tied for the top height with Texas' Desitinee Hooker, but Niare took two attempts to clear the mark, while Hooker needed only one. Both missed three tries at 1.93m. Mustang Alesha Stegemoller missed qualifying, finishing 13th at 1.71m.
Kvetova advanced to Sacramento by finishing fourth in the javelin. She posted a throw of 51.19 despite being hampered by three fouls.
In the 5,000m run, SMU sophomore Rachael Forish just missed an automatic berth in the 5,000-meter run. She finished sixth in 17:13.06, with only the top five in each event winning automatic berths. She did, however, advance by claiming an at-large berth to the national meet based on her ranking among all regional performances.
Freshman Christina Mueller, SMU's lone competitor on Saturday, also missed the NCAA finals, finishing 17th in the discus throw at 47.39m.
