In track and field, a couple thousands of a second can be the difference between moving on and going home.
Arizona sprinter Mason Lawyer came out on the right side of the sport’s ultra thin margins Wednesday in the preliminary rounds at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Lawyer, a senior, advanced to the finals of the 100m dash by a .004 seconds, coming in 9th in prelims with a time of 10.146. That was well off his season-best time of 9.93.
Later in the evening, Lawyer advanced
to the finals of the 200m dash, also by .004 seconds. He finished 9th in prelims with a time of 20.391, which is a clip off his season-best mark of 20.02.
The finals of the 100m and 200m dashes will take place Friday evening.
Arizona’s 4x100m relay failed to advance to the finals, finishing in 10th place with a time of 38.79, about .06 seconds behind the last qualifier.
Elsewhere, John Paredes finished 23rd in the 110m hurdles, ending his strong junior year.
In the finals of the men’s shot put, junior Tyler Michelini placed 11th with a mark of 18.88m. Michelini’s finish earns him Second Team All-American honors.
The Arizona women take the stage Thursday, with the 4x100m team competing in the semifinals, Taylen Wise in the 100-meter hurdles semifinals, Erin Tack in the javelin finals and Sydnie Vanek in the long jump finals. The meet is being streamed on ESPN+ and televised on ESPN/ESPN2.
