MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama outdoor track & field team will send 12 student-athletes to the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round in Tampa, Fla. May 24-26. Qualifiers were announced today by the NCAA. 

Emilie Berge will compete in the heptathlon and high jump events. Taylor Dames and Olivia Swan will also enter the high jump. Michaela Preachuk and Hanna-Mai Vaikla qualified for the hammer and javelin events, respectively. Autavia Fluker and Michaela Obijiaku will participate in the shot put.  

Rafael Scott and Alex Elam will run the 100m dash. Sean Collins and Niel Giliomee earned spots in the pole vault event, while Andrew Allen will compete in the hammer throw.

Berge earned 5,632 heptathlon points at the Sun Belt Conference Championships to set a new conference and school record. The sophomore recorded a personal-best 1.75m (5-07.25) high jump mark at the meet to claim fifth in the USA records. 

Preachuk broke her own USA record and led the conference hammer throw rankings with a 61.58m (202-00.25) mark at the Mt. SAC Relays. 

Scott set a new school record and finished third overall in the Sun Belt with a 10.25-second 100m dash at the Tiger Track Classic. Elam ran the 100m dash in 10.33 seconds at the South Alabama Invitational. The time is tied for second-best in the USA records and ranks among the top ten times in the conference this season. 

Collins qualified for the East Preliminary round for the second consecutive year with a 5.50m (18-00.50) pole vault at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic. The junior earned his third-straight Sun Belt pole vault title at last weekend's conference championships. Giliomee's 5.40m (17-08.50) pole vault at the South Alabama Invitational is the second-best in the Jaguar record books and third-highest in the league this season. 

Allen's 61.30m (201-01.25) hammer throw from the South Alabama Jaguar Classic was the first of three victories this season. The mark is third on the all-time USA performance list and fourth in the league. 

Dames earned all-conference recognition with a second-place high jump at the Sun Belt Championships. The junior has finished first or second in eight events this season, including a 1.79m (5-10.50) effort at the South Alabama Jaguar Classic which tied for second-best in the conference and in the all-time USA records. Swan won the high jump with identical 1.79m (5-10.50) marks at the South Alabama Jaguar Classic and Jaguar Invitational. The junior earned the runner-up position in the school record books and the conference standings. 

Vaikla earned four victories in five javelin events this season, including a 46.61m (152-11.00) mark to claim all-conference honors at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. The throw is the fifth-best in school history.

Fluker's 15.38m (50-05.50) shot put throw at the Sun Belt Championships is the second-longest in school history. The sophomore picked up second-team all-conference recognition with the personal-best mark. Obijiaku also claimed all-Sun Belt recognition and third place in the Jaguar shot put records with a personal-best 15.35m (50-04.50) effort at the conference championships.  

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub

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