Muscaro Wins 200-Meter Qualifying Heat at NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday
Links: Results
BRADENTON, Fla. – Senior Carly Muscaro (Ashland, Mass.) of the Merrimack College women's track & field program posted a season-best time of 23.51 seconds in Friday's preliminary heat in the 200-meter dash at the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning her heat and registering the second-fastest time overall to advance to Saturday's final. The reigning national champion in the 400-meter dash will have a chance to defend her title in the 400m as well as win her first outdoor crown in the 200m when she returns to the track complex at IMG Academy Saturday evening.
The Basics
Meet: 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Host/Location: IMG Academy | Bradenton, Fla.
Top Performances: Muscaro (200m Prelims)
How It Happened
- After posting the fastest time in yesterday's qualifying heats of the 400m, Muscaro returned to the track in hopes of making it back-to-back trips to the 200m final following her performances as a junior
- Manning the inside lane, Muscaro raced out ahead of the pack to win her heat in blistering fashion, crossing the finish line by a margin of .45 seconds – the largest gap between first and second place of the three qualifying heats
- Her time was the second fastest overall, trailing junior Chelsea Hayward of Roberts Wesleyan by .05 seconds
- Fellow Northeast-10 Conference competitor Shatajah Wattely of Southern Connecticut State also raced in Muscaro's heat, finishing in third, but did not qualify for the final
- After winning both the 200m and 400m during the indoor national championships, Muscaro will now have the chance to repeat that feat in the outdoor tournament tomorrow evening. She will looking to finish her unprecedented and immensely successful season with four national titles as a senior and six overall
Up Next
Muscaro returns to IMG Academy to run in the finals of both events, beginning with the 400m at 6:15 p.m. followed by the 200m at 7:45 p.m. The four-time national champion will look for a repeat championship in the 400m while aim for her first 200m title at outdoor nationals following a second-place finish last year.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
