FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Wichita State's
Brady Palen punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a top-12 performance in the high jump at the NCAA West Preliminaries Friday afternoon at John McDonnell Field.
"I could not be prouder of Brady the way he competed today," head coach
Steve Rainbolt said. "Just like at conference, he certainly found himself in a bit of a tough spot, and he battled and competed extremely well. He did what he had to do in order to advance to Eugene."
The senior from Beloit, Kan. cleared his first three bars on first attempt to tie with four others for the lead going into the 2.17m/7'1.5" bar. With 19 jumpers still in the competition, seven went over 2.17m on first attempt, while Palen, along with three others cleared on second attempt, and two jumpers recorded a third-attempt clearance to keep the competition going with 13 jumpers remaining.
Palen sat in eighth, his clean record at the first three bars putting him ahead of five jumpers. Six men cleared 2.20m/7'2.5", but Palen's 2.17m was enough to hold on and advance to Eugene, Ore. with a 10
th-place finish.
"Brady has so consistently shown himself to be a wonderful competitor," Rainbolt said. "I can't wait to watch him compete for All-American status in two weeks."
This will be Palen's second-straight trip to outdoor nationals, placing 18
th to earn honorable mention All-American recognition in 2023. He is the second high jumper in Shocker history to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in back-to-back seasons and third to qualify more than once in their career. David Puvogel advanced in back-to-back seasons in 1981 and 1982, and Ashley Peterson qualified in 2014 and 2016.
Palen will compete in the NCAA Finals at Hayward Field on Friday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. CT.
