Devonish Earns a Spot At NCAA Championships With Strong Race

AUSTIN, Texas – After running a controlled and strategic race at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Thursday, Illinois State sophomore Anderson Devonish found another gear in Friday's 400-meter quarterfinal to advance to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

Running in a competitive heat No. 3, Devonish ran a personal-best time of 46.26 to finish fourth in his heat.  However, his time was the seventh-best of the day and he advanced to his first NCAA Championship in the event.  His time was two tenths of a second faster than his previous best of 46.46, set at the Sun Angel Classic on April 9.   

"Andy was in the toughest heat and had the defending outdoor champion to try and chase down so I think that pushed him a bit," Illinois State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said.  "He just missed out on the automatic qualifier by finishing in the top three of the heat coming in fourth, but his time was top eight and sends him to the NCAA Championships.  I think he learned a lot about himself in that race today and I think he has real shot to lower his time even more and make the final in Eugene." 

Devonish will be joined by his teammates Antonio Farley, Jalen Lewis and CJ Hamilton tomorrow, when they compete in the 4x400 meter relay looking to advance to Eugene, Oregon.

The only other Redbird competitor to hit the track Friday was sophomore Ariel Michalek, who competed in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase.  Michalek ran in heat No. 1 and finished in a time of 11:06.55, to finish 15th in the heat and 45th overall. 

Joining the 4x400 meter relay team in action Saturday on the final day of competition will be senior pole vaulter Chase Pavelonis and shot putters Jianna Williams and Morgan Keller.  Pavelonis gets things started at 1 p.m., followed by Williams and Keller in the shot put at 6 p.m.  The relay squad will run in the final race of the three-day meet at approximately 9:45 p.m.

"The shot put is another strong event for Jianna and I know she would love to be double qualifier with a strong performance tomorrow," Bovee stated. "Chase seems to have regained his health and form and needs to probably clear another bar higher than he ever has before, but I think he is motivated and ready to do that coming off a disappointing finish at the MVC meet.  The goal for the relay squad is setting their goal on the school record and I think they are hungry to finish in the top half and advance, so I think there is a lot to look forward to on the final day here in Texas."

Redbird fans can follow all the West Preliminary action online, courtesy of a live webcast provided at texassports.com. Live results will also be provided by branchsportstech.com. Updates, photos and more will be available on Twitter by following @ISU_Track_XC and @NCAA, and fans are encouraged to interact with the meet by following and using the hashtag #NCAATF.

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