Eastern graduate Jewel Ash, a Fresno State senior, raced to the Mountain West Conferfence championship and a school record in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday in Clovis, Calif.
Ash ran 59.54 in Thursday’s qualifying and then ran a season-best 57.63 in the final, finishing three meters ahead of 2nd-place Hanna Kiess of New Mexico, who ran 58.03.
The conference title is Ash’s third. While attending Charleston Southern, she won the Big South intermediates in 2021 [1:00.51] and 2022 [57.92 after a PR 57.16 in the prelims].
Ash’s previous best time racing for Fresno was 58.08 last month at Stanford, which was 3rd-fastest in school history. With her race Saturday, she broke the school record of 57.85 set by Kyra Johnson at 2016 NCAA West Preliminaries in Lawrence, Kan.
Her time is No. 20 in the NCAA West Region this year and No. 38 among U.S. women.
Ash also ran a 54.05 leadoff leg on Fresno State’s 1,600-meter relay team, which placed 2nd in 3:37.36, behind only New Mexico’s 3:35.54.The time is Fresno’s 4th-fastest all-time.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 