MOUNT OLIVE N.C. – Senior
Destiny Johnson (New Iberia, La.) highlighted Clayton State men's and women's track & field's performance at the Mount Olive Last Chance Meet on Sunday, May 12 as she delivered a strong NCAA provisional mark to close out the regular season.
Competing in the high jump, Johnson cleared the bar at a height of 1.72-meters to improve her previous provisional mark by 0.04 and tie for 12
th in the country entering the weekend. That tied her for second out of eight competitors.
With the qualification standard for the 2019 NCAA National Championships set at 1.67-meters, she has given herself an excellent opportunity to be selected for this year's field. While the number of competitors varies from year to year, over the past five championships at least 20 have been selected, with a high of 22 in 2016 and 20 going last year.
Currently she is among 19 individuals that have cleared at least 1.72-meters this year, barring any other last minute additions. To put that height into perspective, in 2018 that mark was good for fifth place at the national championships and has been at least sixth over the past three seasons.
Junior
Nia Elmore (Hinesville, Ga.) rounded things out on the women's side as she placed 12-of-27 in the 100-meters (12.07) while senior
T.J. Witherspoon (Thomasville, Ga.) closed out his impressive career with a 2-of-11 outing in the 800-meters (1:53.10) as the only men's competitor for the Lakers.
Johnson will now await word on whether or not her performance this weekend is good enough to earn her a trip to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships in Kingsville, Texas later this month. The field will be announced on
www.NCAA.com on Wednesday, May 15 with the national championships being held from May 23-25.
CLAYTON STATE MEN'S COMPETITORS (1)
T.J. Witherspoon – 800-meters (2-of-11, 1:53.10)
CLAYTON STATE WOMEN'S COMPETITORS (2)
Nia Elmore – 100-meters (12-of-27, 12.07)
Destiny Johnson – High Jump (T2-of-8, 1.72m)#
#Indicates NCAA Provisional Mark
