WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Tufts University junior Alex Lemieux qualified for the final in the 200 meters on the first day of the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday.
Lemieux ran a 21.81 time in the 200-meter preliminaries for sixth place, making him one of eight qualifiers for Saturday's final (4:20 pm). The time was hair a faster than the 21.85 that he qualified for the NCAA's with, and it automatically makes him an All-American regardless of his finish on Saturday. Lemieux also just narrowly missed qualifying for the 60-meter dash final on Friday. His time of 6.850 seconds tied for ninth. The eighth and final qualifier had a 6.847 mark. Lemieux's time was a tick off his 6.84 school record.
Also on Friday, Tufts junior Drew Svoboda was in the NCAA Long Jump competition and placed 15th with a 22'3 1/2" (6.79m) mark that was his best of three attempts. He was second in NESCAC and third in New England among NCAA qualifiers. Jumbo sophomore Luke Botsford placed 17th in the preliminaries of the 400 meters with a time of 50.64 seconds that failed to reach the final. He was the only runner from NESCAC or New England in the NCAA 400 race on Friday.
Senior co-captain Ben Stein also competed in the first four events of the heptathlon on Friday. His 2339 score is in 20th place. He scored 710 points in the 60-meter dash finishing in 7.51 seconds and totaled 657 points with 20'9" (6.32m) distance in the long jump.
Tufts did not score any team points on Friday.
In addition to Lemieux in the 200 final on Saturday, sophomore Harry Rienecker-Found will compete in the high jump starting at 11 am. Stein will finish the heptathlon also starting at 11, with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters remaining.
This weekend's NCAA Championships are at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
