State sends three to nationals

Texas State is sending three athletes to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA National Championships in two weeks. Senior triple jumper Mylana Hearn, junior high jumper Chelsie Decoud and sophomore thrower T’Mond Johnson (shot put) will represent the Bobcats after they qualified during last week’s NCAA West Preliminaries in Austin.

“Overall, we had strong performances throughout the meet. We’re excited to have both Chelsie and Mylana return to Eugene, and equally excited for T’Mond and his first appearance at the National Championships and knowing there is more to come,” Director of track & Field/Cross Country Jody Stewart said. “Our student-athletes competed extremely well and we are proud of all of their efforts.”

Hearn qualified for the second consecutive year after being selected as a Second-Team All-American in 2016. Back in March, Hearn told the Daily Record that her goals for her final season, and after shin surgery, were to make it back to Eugene and this time be named a First-Team All-American. Her personal-best triple jump of 13.09 meters at the prelims was a top five rank in Texas State history.

Both Johnson and Decoud qualified for nationals on the second day of competition. Johnson was first after a shot put toss of 18.80 meters on his final attempt where he finished seventh. His mark is currently third in program history. Johnson went from not scoring at conference a year ago to qualifying for nationals this time around.

Decoud passed on her first attempt and needed to qualify using only her second and third heights. Her jump of 1.79 meters was good enough for sixth and give the junior her second straight trip to Oregon.

Sprinters Tramesha Hardy and Lincoln Warren both missed qualification after good showings at the Sun Belt meet. Hardy barely missed breaking the school record in the 100m dash by 0.02 seconds and finished third in the qualifying heat. Hardy eventually finished 17th with a time of 11.42. 

Sophomore Lincoln Warren advanced to the quarters on the 400m dash by finishing third with a time of 47.12, but missed nationals after finishing 22nd in the final heat.

Hardy did manage to break the school record in the 200m during qualifying (22.92).

Nationals will run from June 7 through the 10 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.