Final Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of South Alabama freshman Kaitlyn Beans placed among the top 12 in the women's triple jump and became the second Jaguar in as many days to advance to the finals of the NCAA Championships on day three of the Division I East Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium Saturday.
 
Beans notched a seventh-place finish in the event with a 13.18m leap on her fourth attempt to become the first Jaguar woman to qualify for the national finals since Lindsay Schwartz (heptathlon) and Latifah Johnson (hammer throw) in 2012.  The effort fell one-hundredth of a meter shy of her school-record 13.19m jump, which came in a gold-medal performance at the Sun Belt Conference Championships earlier this month.
 
"Kaitlyn has a very bright future ahead of her," said head track and field coach Paul Brueske.  "To come in as a true freshman and qualify for nationals in her first season ever doing the triple jump is remarkable, and we're proud of her effort out there today."
 
The Montgomery, Ala., native is the first individual in school history to advance in any of the four jumping events.  She will join sophomore Renaldo Frechou, who qualified in the men's hammer throw on Friday, for the championship meet in Eugene, Ore., June 11-14.
 
Jan-Louw Kotze, who entered the competition as the 15^th seed, recorded a top mark of 57.03m on his fourth attempt in the men's discus to come up less than four-tenths of a meter short of qualifying.  The sophomore became the third Jaguar of the week to fall just one spot shy of advancing to the finals – Noelle Jones (javelin) and Bobbie Williamson (hammer throw) suffered the same fate on Thursday – after a 13^th-place finish.
 
"Lack of effort wasn't the reason those guys didn't advance – that's for sure," Brueske noted.  "All three of those guys either set a personal best or came very close to a personal best.  This season, the competition was especially difficult, and I think all three would have made it in most years." 
 
In the men's pole vault, Connor Smith closed out his Jaguar career with a clearance of 5.02m to finish 35^th overall.  The senior ended his run with USA as the owner of the best mark in school history – a height of 5.20m set earlier this season – and as a three-time all-conference performer in the event.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
 
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