Rae-Anne Serville faces the starter in Texas, USA tonight in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) West Preliminary women’s 400 metres quarterfinals.

Twelve of the 24 quartermilers on show will progress to the June 9-12 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Late on Thursday , Serville finished fourth in heat six and 23rd overall in 53.40 seconds, booking her quarterfinal lane on time. The 19-year-old University of Southern California (USC) freshman will probably require an improvement on her 52.89 Trinidad and Tobago junior record to secure a ticket to Oregon.

Safiya John was seventh in the opening West Preliminary women’s 100m hurdles first round heat, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff sophomore getting to the line in a wind-assisted 13.55 seconds. John was 38th overall, and did not move on to the quarterfinal round.

Cherisse Murray just missed out on qualification for the NCAA Championships when she finished 13th in the NCAA East Preliminary women’s shot put event, in Florida. The top 12 advanced. Murray threw the iron ball 16.50 metres, the University of Alabama student falling short of 12th spot by a mere two centimetres.

Kadesha Prescott was eliminated in the opening round of the East Preliminary women’s 100m event. The University of South Florida (USF) sophomore, however, had the satisfaction of clocking a personal best 11.63 seconds. She was 38th fastest in a field of 48.

Two weeks ago, at the American Athletic Conference Championships in Florida, Prescott finished ninth overall in the 100m dash in a wind-aided 11.62 seconds.

Yesterday, at the East Preliminary meet, Akanni Hislop’s Louisiana State University (LSU), Eric Harrison’s Ohio State University and Dwight St Hillaire’s University of Kentucky secured NCAA Championship berths in the men’s 4x100m relay. LSU won the opening heat in 38.85 seconds, while Kentucky finished third in the same race in 39.45. Ohio secured second spot in heat three in 39.10.