NCAA West Preliminary Full Results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (SMU) – Junior Latessa Johnson will return to the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter dash for the second time in her career after qualifying out of the first heat of the quarterfinal round Saturday as the Mustangs wrapped up competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, California.

Johnson placed third in the first heat with a time of 22.92 to automatically advance to the national stage in Eugene, Oregon on June 6-9. Her mark was good for seventh in the quarterfinal, the same finish that qualified her for the NCAA Championships in 2016. The Dallas native took ninth in the NCAA (22.80) in 2016 to earn Second Team All-American honors.

She joins Tochi Nlemchi, who qualified in the shot put Thursday, as the second Mustang to punch a ticket to Eugene this weekend.

In her fourth race in as many days, Chelsea Francis took 21^st in the 200-meter quarterfinals Saturday with a time of 23.69. She capped off her sophomore season with quarterfinal-qualifying marks in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the prelim.

Hannah Miller took on the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA West Regional for the second consecutive year, finding 42nd place with a time of 16:44.91 to cap a remarkable season that included two All-Conference finishes and NCAA prelim qualifications for both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter.

Newcomer Atipa Mabonga recorded 12.40m in Saturday's triple jump to finish 36^th overall in her first NCAA West Prelim appearance. Mabonga's 2018 outdoor season included a personal best mark of 12.69m at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships that moved her into fifth all-time at SMU in the triple jump.

Nlemchi and Johnson will move on to the NCAA Championships at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field on June 6-9.
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SMU Results – NCAA West Preliminary Championships
Thursday, May 24
Shot Put
9. Tochi Nlemchi                    16.29m (53-5½ ) - Qualifies for NCAA Championships

100m Dash First Round
15. Latessa Johnson              11.43Q
21. Chelsea Francis               11.58q

10,000m
31. Hannah Miller                   34:00.81
 
Friday, May 25
100m Dash Quarterfinals
16. Latessa Johnson                        11.36
18. Chelsea Francis                          11.42
 
200m Dash First Round
4. Latessa Johnson                          22.94Q 
21. Chelsea Francis                          23.68Q
 
Saturday, May 26
Triple Jump
36. Atipa Mabonga                               12.40m (40-8¼ )
 
200m Quarterfinals
7. Latessa Johnson                              22.92 – Qualifies for NCAA Championships
21. Chelsea Francis                             23.69
 
5,000m
42. Hannah Miller                                 16:51.45