BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Graduate middle distance runner McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) and senior high jumper Sanaä Barnes (Keller, Texas) each qualified for the NCAA Championships next month with strong performances in their respective events on the final day of competition in the NCAA East Preliminary on Saturday evening. Keegan is an automatic qualifier in the 800 meters and Barnes tied for first place in the high jump at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex to wrap up this week's meet which serves as the early rounds of the national championships.
 
Keegan and Barnes were both in peak form and they are each headed to the NCAA Championships as individual qualifiers for the fifth time in their careers. It will be the third appearance at the outdoor national meet for both athletes. The 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11, with women's competition taking place on Thursday, June 9 and Saturday, June 11. This is the 19^th consecutive year that the Villanova women have had at least one qualifier for the outdoor national championships.
 
Saturday's events for the Wildcats at the NCAA East Preliminary included the high jump in the afternoon as well as the quarterfinal rounds of the 3000 meter steeplechase and the 800 meters later in the evening. Senior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) and junior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) each raced in the steeplechase, while sophomore Roschell Clayton (Montego Bay, Jamaica) joined Barnes in competing in the high jump.
 
Barnes was dominant in the high jump competition and finished the day as one of just three athletes to record four successful jumps without a miss. She came into the competition with the bar at a height of 1.71 meters and easily went 4-for-4 on her tries at that height and ensuing bar raises to 1.76 meters, 1.81 meters and 1.84 meters. The top 12 performers from an initial field of 48 athletes advanced to Oregon and there were 11 athletes remaining after all attempts had been made at 1.84 meters. That prevented a bar raise to the next height of 1.87 meters which is Barnes' lifetime best.
 
Two flights of the high jump were contested simultaneously and Barnes was matched by Nyagoa Bayak from Louisiana State in her own flight and by Emma Soderstrom from Wake Forest in the second flight in making it over the bar on their first try on each of their four attempts for the day. The only other athletes who did not record a miss in the competition were Rachel Glenn from South Carolina and Abigail Kwarteng from Middle Tennessee State who each came in with the bar at 1.76 meters. In three career appearances at the NCAA East Preliminary, Barnes has made 10 of her 11 jumps with just a single miss. She owns two first place finishes and a fifth place finish in the high jump at the East meet.
 
Clayton similarly got off to a strong start on Saturday afternoon as she easily cleared the bar at the opening height of 1.66 meters as well as at 1.71 meters. She missed on three attempts with the bar at 1.76 meters, with 11 of the athletes in the competition ultimately eliminated at that height. It was nevertheless a positive finish to the collegiate season for Clayton, who has advanced to the NCAA East Preliminary in each of her first two collegiate seasons.
 
The final event of the night for Villanova was the quarterfinal round of the 800 meters. Keegan finished third in her heat with a time of 2:02.70 to secure an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships. The top three finishers in each of three quarterfinal heats and the next three fastest times moved on to Oregon. It was a hard-working race for Keegan, who ran in the first heat and was boxed in towards the back of the pack with just over 300 meters to go. Coming down the back straightaway she established position on the inside rail and moved into better position with 150 meters to go. Entering the final turn, Keegan stayed with Sarah Hendrick of Kennesaw State and Imogen Barrett of Florida as the top three runners gained separation from the rest of the pack coming down the stretch. Keegan ultimately crossed the finish line nearly 1.4 seconds ahead of the fourth place finisher, Dorcus Ewoi from Campbell.
 
The time of 2:02.70 matches the second-fastest of Keegan's career. It is the exact time that she ran in the final of this year's indoor NCAA Championships where her third place finish was a career best for a national meet. The only faster time Keegan has posted during her incredible collegiate career came in the national quarterfinal round at last year's NCAA East Preliminary when she recorded a lifetime best mark of 2:01.25. That time not only advanced Keegan to the NCAA Championships but also qualified her for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials which took place two weeks after the collegiate national championships.
 
Olivere recorded a time of 10:15.42 in the first heat of the 3000 meter steeplechase. She finished fifth in her heat and 20^th overall out of the 48 competitors in the event. The top three finishers in each heat and the next three fastest times qualified for the NCAA Championships, with each of the three on-time qualifiers coming from the second and third heats which were run at a faster pace than Olivere's section. Helwigh was in the third and final heat and recorded a time of 10:24.03 to finish 11^th in the section and 27^th overall. She came in just ahead of Kelly Iocca from LIU in a virtual tie at the line, with Helwigh's time two-thousandths of a second faster than Iocca's (10:24.026 to 10:24.028).