BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sophomore Jerlana Williams made history Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex, headlining a stellar day for the Harding women's track and field team that saw four athletes secure NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks at the Samford Invitational.
Williams provided the moment of the meet in the 60-meter dash preliminaries. She crossed the line in 7.50 seconds, shattering the long-standing school record of 7.56 set by Calister Uba in 1997. The time not only breaks the 29-year-old program mark but also stands as a definitive NCAA provisional qualifier, ranking No. 11 in the nation.
Kharashchuk Takes First Place in the 400m
Senior Tetiana Kharashchuk led the Lady Bisons on the podium with a dominant victory in the 400-meter dash. Her winning time of 54.89 seconds is a provisional qualifier and currently ranks as the No. 2 time in NCAA Division II this season. Kharashchuk's performance cements her status as one of the elite long-sprinters in the country.
Field Standouts Reach National Standard
In the field events, Harding's veteran leadership produced two more crucial national marks:
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Pole Vault: Senior Cadence Sansom cleared 3.82 meters (12-06.25) to take third place. The height is an NCAA provisional mark and currently sits at No. 10 in Division II.
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Triple Jump: Senior Karyna Vehner secured her spot on the national leaderboard with a leap of 11.78 meters (38-07.75). Her seventh-place finish earned her a provisional mark, ranking her 19th nationally.
Strong Showings Across Birmingham
While Williams, Kharashchuk, Sansom, and Vehner reached the provisional standards, several other Lady Bisons posted impressive finishes against the high-level field:
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Josie Parks narrowly missed the mile provisional mark but ran a personal-best 5:00.26 to finish 10th.
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Ally Cheek tied for third in the high jump with a clearance of 1.61m (5-03.25).
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Jayden Bowman finished 13th in the 400m with a time of 58.15 seconds.
Multi-Event Momentum
The weekend's success began during Thursday's pentathlon, where the Lady Bisons nearly broke another school record. Senior Carly Tucker moved to No. 3 in Harding history with a career-high 3,327 points to finish second overall. Freshman Roselyn Spencer debuted at No. 4 all-time for the program with 3,247 points, finishing fifth in the meet.
Harding NCAA Provisional Qualifiers - Samford Inv.
