March 2, 2013
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Three Yellow Jackets qualified for the Indoor NCAA Championships as senior Aaron Unterberger pole vaulted to a personal best and new Georgia Tech school record Saturday at the Last Chance Invite in Blacksburg, Va. en route to qualifying. Joining Unterberger is junior Julienne McKee, who triple jumped her way to the NCAA Indoor Championships, and sophomore Broderick Snoddy in the 60 meters.
The top 16 athletes with the best distances or times qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships that take place March 8-9 at Randall Tyson Track in Fayettesville, Ark.
Sophomore Broderick Snoddy, who originally missed qualifying for the championship meet by one one-hundredth of a second, now has the chance to compete after the declaration period ended Monday. Athletes who qualify for multiple events can declare to compete in one or all events, and as athletes drop out of races, spots open up for the next best times.
Unterberger vaulted to a height of 5.44m (17’10.25″) to break the school record, which he set last weekend at the ACC Championships at 5.31m (17’5″).
McKee competed at a different location than Unterberger and took first in the triple jump (12.91m; 42’4.25″) at the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind.
After all the results were in from every school this weekend, it was actually a distance McKee set earlier in the season that stood the test of time and earned her a spot in the championships.
McKee unknowingly jumped as far as she would need back on Jan. 12 at the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener. The Marietta, Ga. native’s, triple jump of 12.94m (42’5.5″) landed her at No. 14 for a chance to compete for a National Championship.
