Eastern’s Jailya Ash ran within 8-100ths of a second of her PR and easily advanced in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA West Regional Prelims Thursday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Ash, a junior at Iowa, ran 13.26 with a legal 1.8 wind, the 13th-fastest time of 48 hurdlers who qualified for East Prelims.
The top three in each of six heats and the next six-best times advanced to the national quarterfinals, scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Saturday. The top 12 finishers Saturday along with the top 12 in the East Prelims advance to the NCAA Championships next month at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Everyone who ran 13.46 or faster advanced to Saturday.
Ash, who qualified for East Prelims twice while she was at UConn, has never before advanced to the second round.
Ash’s PR is 13.19 with legal 1.7 wind from this year’s Drake Relays last month in Des Moines, Iowa. She ran within 1-100th of a second of that PR last weekend when she placed 6th in the finals at the Big Ten Championships in Lincoln, Neb., with a 13.20.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 