AUSTIN — Paige Patterson raced to a berth in the 400 meters quarterfinals on Thursday to highlight UTSA's opening day of action at this weekend's NCAA Championships Preliminary Rounds.
Patterson circled the Mike A. Myers Stadium oval in 53.83 en route to fifth place in the fifth of six opening-round heats. That was good for 20th in the field of 48 sprinters and it ranked second among the six at-large qualifiers based on time. The quarters are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and the top three finishers in each of the three heats along with the next three fastest times will advance to the national semifinals in Eugene, Ore.
Jennifer Arinze also raced in the quarter, but she clocked a 55.04 in the fourth section and did not advance after posting the 36th-fastest time of the night.
Meanwhile, Syd Howells matched a career best in the 100m with her wind-aided time of 11.44, but it did not enable her to advance to the quarters, as she missed out on a qualifying spot by just three one-hundredths of a second. The sophomore from Round Rock finished fifth in the third preliminary heat of the night and 27th overall in the field of 47 sprinters.
In field event action, Shalise Borden placed 40th in the hammer with her toss of 179-3 (54.64m) and she saw her senior season come to an end.
The three-day meet will continue on Friday.
