KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -  Clayton College & State University's Tony Juarez became the fourth Laker track & field athlete to qualify for nationals Friday, placing 14th in the highly touted Sea Ray Relays at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.  

Juarez, a senior, placed 14th in the largely NCAA Division I meet with a time of 3:52.97, provisionally qualifying him for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Walnut, California, May 26-29. He placed second in his heat and defeated 16 Division I runners in the race.  

The East Hazel Crest, IL, native eclipsed the provisional mark by more than second and will now try to lower his time to the automatic qualifying time of 3:47 in his upcoming meets. Juarez came two seconds from breaking his own school record set last year. He set the school record at the Georgia Tech Invitation with a time of 3:50.97, bettering 22 Division I runners in the field of 37.  

In addition to Juarez provisionally qualifying for nations, earlier this season freshman Eric Simmons (Carrollton, GA) provisionally qualified in the 400m with a school record time of 47.97, along with freshman Brian Etelman (Marietta, GA), provisionally qualifying in the 200m with a time of 21.47. Senior Rother Heard (Conyers, GA) hit the provisional qualifying standard in the triple jump earlier this year with a leap of 48-feet-1 ¼ inches.            

            Juarez along with his Clayton State teammates will return to the track on Saturday, April 10, in the Cumberland Invitational in Williamsburg, KY.