ALLENDALE, MICH -- Cal State LA's
Leon Tafirenyika had quite an introduction to the NCAA Track & Field Championships Thursday at Grand Valley State.
Tafirenyika, the California Collegiate Athletic Association's 400-meter champion, came up clutch and ran a lifetime best time of 46.70 in the prelims to qualify for Saturday's final. Tafirenyika finished fourth in his heat, which was the fastest of the three contested at the Grand Valley Track & Field Stadium. The top two finishers in each heat automatically advanced and Tafirenyika had one of the three other fastest time to make the championship field.
His time of 46.70 was significantly faster than his previous best of 47.13 and is No. 6 all-time at Cal State LA.
Tafirenyika entered the prelims with the 16th-fastest qualifying time, but recorded the eighth-fastest time on Thursday. He is one of three runners from the West to reach the finals, joining Academy of Art's Duncan Agyemang and Azusa Pacific's Dominic Gonzalez-Shelmire.
"Today's race was a good one. It's been a tough season with all the injuries, but making it to nationals and being able to run is exciting," Tafirenyika said. "I just wanted to make it count, have fun and leave it all on the track. It was a good race and and I was excited again. I thank God for being able to finish the race healthy!"
The 400-meter final will be run on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. PST.
Tafirenyika will also be in action on Friday when he joins
Clifton Johnson,
Shingirai Hlanguyo and
Jesus Nichol II in the 4x400 relay prelims at 4:50 p.m.
Porte-Joie Tshiaba will also be in action on Friday when he competes in the high jump final that begins at 12:30 p.m. PST. Tshiaba, who finished fourth in the nation in 2019 as a freshman, cleared 7-2.25 in his only competition of the season, at Azusa Pacific's Last Chance Meet earlier this month. He has the No. 3 qualifying mark entering the championships.
