JACKSONVILLE, FL - Iona University men's outdoor track senior Mael Gouyette punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship in Austin, Texas, with his performance in the 1,500-meter quarterfinal run. Gouyette was joined by sophomore Damien Dilcher in the 1,500, junior Jadyn Tabois in the 200, and senior Graham Baird and juniors Joshua DeSouza and Matt Rankin in the 5,000-meter event at the NCAA First Rounds at Hodges Stadium hosted by the University of North Florida.

1,500-METER QUARTERFINAL

Gouyette will serve as the Gaels' lone representative in Austin after a second place finish in the 1500-meter quarterfinal. Gouyette ran a 3:49.27 and finished a second behind the region winner, Villanova's Liam Murphy. He will compete in the semifinal round on Wednesday, June 7 at 7:46 p.m. ET at the University of Texas' Myers Stadium. The evening's events can be seen live on ESPN2. Dilcher was 12th in his heat and 12th overall with his time of 3:52.29. The top 12 times in the opening heat were better than any of the results in the second.

200-METER QUARTERFINAL

Tabois completed his historic junior outdoor campaign with a 20.62 mark in the 200-meter run. He was fifth in his heat and ran the 15th fastest time in the quarterfinal event. This season saw Tabois emerge as one of the top sprinters in program history. He was named Iona's O'Connell Award winner as the school's top senior student-athlete.

5,000-METER SEMIFINAL

DeSouza was the Gaels' top performer in the 5,000-meter event posting a 13:57.96 in the opening heat.  He finished ninth and just over 2.5 seconds out of a qualifying time for Austin. Rankin crossed two spots behind him (14:01.06) for 11th place overall. Baird competed in the second heat and earned a time of 14:43.46.

UP NEXT

One final meet - and athletic event - for the 2022-23 campaign and the Maroon & Gold awaits in two weeks as Gouyette competes in the 1,500-meter semifinal on June 7.

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