Mirabelli, Burgess Advance to NCAA Outdoor Championships

Thursday, May 23

Jacksonville, FL

All Day

Rutgers University

NCAA East Prelimnary

Photo by: KC McGinnis

Mirabelli, Burgess Advance to NCAA Outdoor Championships

May 25 | Men's Track & Field

Live Results Results

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Rutgers men's track and field concluded its weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary on Sunday at the University of Florida, where 11 Scarlet Knights competed across the three-day event. Highlighting the outing, graduate-student Chris Mirabelli and sophomore Taj Burgess punched tickets to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the javelin and 400m, respectively.

ADVANCING! Chris Mirabelli punches his ticket to the #ncaaTF Championships in the javelin! Mirabelli's throw of 66.88m (219' 5") finishes ninth in the East to send him off to Austin!

📈https://t.co/MGs833pQom pic.twitter.com/c4aVbyNMae
— Rutgers Men's TF/XC (@RutgersMensTFXC) May 24, 2019

Mirabelli, a three-time All-American, recorded a throw of 66.88m (219' 5") to finish ninth at the East Preliminary to advance. The Lumberton, New Jersey, native claimed his third Big Ten title in the javelin this season with a throw of 71.83m, earning First Team All-Big Ten status for the third time.

ADVANCING! Taj Burgess punches his ticket to the #ncaaTF Championships in the 400m! Burgess clocked a time of 45.86 to finish eighth in the East and move on to Austin!

📈https://t.co/JbOWhhKnEU pic.twitter.com/ldpml7fwCo
— Rutgers Men's TF/XC (@RutgersMensTFXC) May 24, 2019

Burgess clocked a time of 45.86 to finish eighth in the East and move on to Austin for the second straight year. The Carteret, New Jersey, native, earned Second Team All-American honors in the event in his rookie year last season. He claimed a silver medal in the event at the 2018 Big Ten Championships, while adding a podium finish this year.

ALL SCARLET KNIGHT REGIONAL PERFORMANCES
The 4x400m relay consisting of Christopher Jenkins, Sterling Pierce, Semaj Willis, and Burgess clocked a time of 3:08.55 in the event, finish 14th in the region.

Redshirt-junior Greg Harnett finished 14th in the javelin with a PR throw of 66.01m (216' 7") in his third Regionals appearance. Senior John Mooers finished 19th in the discus with a throw of 54.83m (179' 10") in his second Regionals outing.

Sophomore Malachi Davis qualified for his second Regionals appearance, posting a mark of a mark of 15.38m (50' 5.5") in the triple jump to finish 21st in the region. Freshman A'nan Bridgett finished top 25 in the long jump, posting a result of 7.31m (23' 11.75") finish 21st in the region.

In the high jump, junior Perry Christie competed in his second East Preliminary, recording a leap of 2.06m (6' 9"). Redshirt-sophomore Jason Campbell also represented Rutgers in the discus throw, qualifying for the first time in his career.

UP NEXT
Mirabelli and Burgess will travel to Austin for the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships slated for June 5-8 at the University of Texas.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's track and field and cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/).

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