Markel, Rotich Earn Berths in National Championship Meet

Thursday, May 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

Tulane University

NCAA East Regional

Photo by: David Rosenblum

Markel, Rotich Earn Berths in National Championship Meet

May 24, 2019 | Track & Field

Meet Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last season, Tulane pole vaulter Rebekah Markel finished one place short of reaching the national championship meet.

This year, the senior left no doubt.

Markel was perfect Friday afternoon as she cleared all three heights on her first attempt, easily earning a berth into the NCAA Outdoor Championships by tying for first place at the NCAA East Regional at Hodges Stadium.

Markel was one of two qualifiers for the national meet on Friday as Emmanuel Rotich also clinched a spot at nationals in the 3K steeplechase by winning his heat and placing fifth in a season-best time. In the women's steeplechase, Mckenzie Melius set a new school record to close out her Tulane career.

POLE VAULTERS IMPRESS
Markel, who set the school record in the pole vault indoors and outdoors this year, cleared heights of 3.92 meters, 4.07 meters and 4.17 meters (13-8.25) all on her first try. That tied her for first in the regional with four other jumpers. With fewer than 12 jumpers clearing 4.17 meters, there was no need for the bar to go higher. Instead, that jump allowed her to coast into a trip to Austin in two weeks.

"This year you can see the difference," said Tulane associate head coach Doug Fraley, who coaches the pole vaulters. "The bar went up, and she went in there and made it effortlessly. If the bar had gone up again, I believe she would have gone and done the same thing. It's a testament to how hard she's worked and how much better she is this year."

Markel placed 13th last season, one short of the 12th-place cutoff to reach nationals.

That fate, however, was handed to a different Green Wave pole vaulter on Friday. Freshman Nastja Modic barely missed her shot at a trip to Texas, placing 13th in the event by clearing 4.07 meters. That mark is a new personal best for Modic and will earn the Slovenian a spot at the European Under-23 Championships this summer.

Also competing for Tulane was freshman Alex Potts, who got over 3.77 meters and 3.92 meters on her second try each before bowing out at 4.07 meters. Potts placed 29th in the field and will be attending the U.S. Under-20 championships.

"I'm really proud of our freshmen because coming into a meet like this, it's something you have to go through the process," Fraley said. "They went through it and placed high and jumped good heights. They handled their business very well for two freshmen, and that will pay off big when they get here next year."

ROTICH CRUISES IN STEEPLECHASE
Emmanuel Rotich ran another tremendous race on Friday, winning his heat of the 3K steeplechase to earn his third straight trip to the national championship meet.

In the final heat of the night, Rotich was happy to hang in the middle of the pack for the first two laps before slowly making his move. By the third lap, he had taken a position in third place. Two laps later, he had moved up to second.

In the final 400 meters, the senior pounced. Rotich passed up Virginia Tech's Fitsum Seyoum and sped to the finish line with a time of 8:39.68. That time was his fastest of the season and put him fifth in the region.

"I'm really proud of him tonight," said Eric Peterson, Tulane's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. "He's now going into the national meet coming off a seasonal best, and he's peaking at the right time. His last four races have been outstanding. Everything's in place for him to be successful in the national meet, and I know that's something he'd love to do more than anything to cap off a great career."

Mckenzie Melius made her final race as a Green Wave athlete a memorable one, setting a new school record in the 3K steeplechase for the second consecutive meet. The senior kicked hard on the last lap, moving up to 11th place in her heat with a time of 10:27.81.

Just two weeks earlier at the conference championship, Melius broke her own school record by six seconds with a time of 10:27.88. But she was seven hundredths of a second faster on Friday in Jacksonville and placed 26th in the field. She came into the race seeded 43rd, so she surpassed her seed by 17 spots.

Kyah Loyd began the day for the Green Wave, taking a 31st-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. Loyd entered the meet seeded 42nd, but the sophomore raced to a time of 13.65 seconds to place fifth in her heat and beat out her seed by 11 places.

All told, Tulane's athletes have had a tremendous meet so far at regionals. Four athletes have competed for the first time in impressive fashion, and three others have surpassed their marks or seeds from the year before.

"It's rare for kids to come here for the first time and compete at a level that matches or exceeds a lifetime best or their ranking or place from the year before, and all of them across the board have competed well," Peterson said. "That's a really good sign for our team and for our program. Everybody's finishing up well and competing to the best of their ability."

On the Green Wave's final day in Jacksonville, freshman Trina Praprotnik Malej will compete in the triple jump. Action in that event is set to begin at 2 p.m. central.