Justin Brooks advanced to the 400 meter dash final with a seventh-place finish in the event’s first round Thursday evening at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. Finalists were selected by the top eight times out of the 17 contestants.
Brooks won his heat with a time of 47.84. He covered the first 200 meters in 21.85 and led from start to finish. John Schuster of Minnesota State and Saint-Jacob Diodonet tied for second with a time of 48.15.
“I’m really proud of Justin,” said Lee head coach Caleb Morgan. “He executed the race strategy perfectly. I’m looking forward to seeing another fantastic performance from him in the final on Saturday.”
The top qualifier for Saturday’s final was Khallifah Rosser of Cal. State Los Angeles. Rosser posted a time of 46.77. Myles Pringle of Ashland was second overall with a mark of 46.86. Third through sixth were Khari Herbert Jr. (St. Augustine’s), Vladislav Tsygankov (Simon Fraser), Joshua Cunningham (Johnson C. Smith) and Faedian Royes (Lincoln). Claiming the final spot was Taysean Goodwin of Emporia State.
Saturday’s final will consist of two timed heats of four runners each. Brooks will be in the second heat with Cunningham (47.73), Rosser and Pringle. Heat No. 1 has Herbert Jr. (47.43), Tsygankov (47.61), Royes (47.79) and Goodwin (47.88).
The event final is scheduled to begin around 4:45 p.m. EST.